Return to Tree Hill
by LeytonLoVe123
Summary: AU 16 years after high school, Brooke, Peyton and Lucas all have come back to Tree Hill. Follow them and their teenaged children in all their new dramas. This summary sucks, but there is a better one inside. Future couples will be LP NH and Keith/Karen
1. Prologue

**A/N: **_Here's a brief summary of what happened in the past. Everything from season 1 happened. That's where it ends. Lucas stayed in Charleston, and shortly after he moved away, during the summer after their junior year, Brooke moved away too. Then, during winter break of their senior year, Peyton also moved away. They were both pregnant and gave birth during their senior year, Peyton at the end, and Brooke in the middle, though they didn't tell anyone about being pregnant. Now, 14 years later, Peyton and Brooke move back to Tree Hill, and soon enough-next chapter-Lucas will move back too. I think that's all that y'all need to know for now. Here's the chapter:_

Peyton pulled her Comet into the driveway and looked at the house she hadn't seen in nearly 15 years. She took a deep breath, still mildly surprised to find herself here. It had been a long time, too long, and she really hadn't expected to ever be here again, but she had promised herself to always do what was necessary for the teenager next to her, and right now she was relatively positive that the best thing for the blonde was to return to Tree Hill.

So, here she was, pulling into the driveway of the house she had lived in until she was 17. She had been surprised that it was for sale when she had started looking for houses in Tree Hill, but it was sort of perfect, that her angsty teenaged daughter was going to be living in the house that she had lived in growing up. Only in Tree Hill did these things happen, and so she had immediately bought the house.

With a sigh, she roused her daughter, and led her into the house, leaving the few suitcases that hadn't fit in the moving van in the car. She only grabbed the sleeping bags, and the overnight bags that carried their pajamas. It was late, and the moving van would arrive in the morning, so she decided that they could gather the rest of the stuff out of the Comet in the morning. "Come on, Aud, we're here," she said to the blonde who was still blinking groggily.

Audrey Elizabeth Sawyer blinked her blue eyes at her mother, finally realizing the car was stopped. When the two of them had set out on this journey, she had been almost anxious to see the house where her mother had grown up, even if she liked to pretend she was resentful to her mother for moving her out of the only home she'd ever known.

Right now, though, she was only partially conscious, so she couldn't do much more than get out of the car, sling her bag over her shoulder, and stumble her way into the house. She didn't really look around as she made her way to the bathroom when her mom told her where it was, and then she changed into pajamas and located her mother in an upstairs bedroom, where Peyton had laid her sleeping bag and pillow out for her.

Once Audrey had collapsed onto the floor, burrowing into the sleeping bag, and then falling back into unconsciousness, Peyton placed a kiss on her daughter's forehead, slipping out of the room and heading for the bathroom to change into her own pajamas. She went into the room her dad used to have, because she had let her daugher have her old room, and laid out her own sleeping bag.

As she crawled into her sleeping bag, she thought about the town she was now in. She would have a lot to deal with tomorrow. After the movers got all of her stuff into the house, she would have to go enroll Audrey at Tree Hill High school. She was going to have to find out who else from her past was here, too, and deal with whatever that would bring. "Welcome home," she sighed to herself before allowing sleep to take over.

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Lucas rolled over and slapped at the damned alarm clock. He pushed himself out of bed and went to the bathroom. He had been having another dream about the only woman who made him regret his decision to move to Charleston all those years ago. He had heard she had made a life for herself, but he tried not to follow her successes too much. He had heard rumor that she was moving back to Tree Hill, though, with her teenaged daughter.

He couldn't help but think of her, though. She really had changed his life during their junior year, and he couldn't help but wonder how different things would be if he had stayed in Tree Hill, or if he had gone back when Keith had. There was no use in dwelling on those thoughts, though, because they were moot. He hadn't moved back. He had stayed in Charleston, and that was that.

Still, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen now, when they would be living so close to each other again. It had been a long time since they had lived just hours apart. Actually, it had been years since they had even lived in the same state. He wondered if she had followed his success as he had followed hers.

Not wanting to let his thoughts dwell on her for long, he turned his thoughts to his other loved ones that lived in Tree Hill, the same city she would be inhabiting with her daughter any day now. He thought about his mother, who was once again pregnant, and his little sister, who was 12, and happy to be becoming a big sister.

Keith and Karen hadn't planned on another child. Actually, they hadn't even planned on having Lily, but that had been another surprise when the couple had gotten together during Lucas's first year of college. The new little one was going to be Karen's last, she proclaimed, since she was only a few years away from fifty, but Lucas had a feeling they were actually glad to be pregnant, and hoping for a boy.

It made him happy that his mom and Keith were happily together. Karen had decided sometime during his senior year that she missed Keith too much to consider her feelings for him strictly platonic anymore, and once she had told him that, he had waited only until Lucas had finished high school and moved on to college before moving back to Tree Hill.

Lucas hadn't gone back, but he had visited occasionally during college, choosing to stay instead in Charleston. He stayed in contact with his mom and uncle mainly through email, and they had webcams. He didn't see much reason to go back, since Keith and Karen were happy anyway and he had formed a life in Charleston. After 15 years, though, he had to admit it still wasn't home.

After going to his practice, in which the players all expressed their feelings about losing him as a coach, Lucas stuck around to shoot hoops for a bit before leaving, driving the Mustang Keith and his mom had given him as a graduation present when he graduated from college. Dan had died in a fire that had destroyed his dealership while Lucas was still in high school, and Nathan had given Keith the dealership, once it was remodeled.

The loss of his father hadn't really affected Lucas. Actually, Lucas hadn't really lost anything. It had probably been more damaging to Nathan, but Lucas hadn't been close enough to help his brother through it. Haley had been, though, and that had been what Nathan had really needed. Lucas was actually surprised that the couple was still going strong, with three kids now. James Lucas Scott had been born their senior year, and they had had two more kids since then, though Lucas had to admit, he had yet to really interact with his nephews and neice.

For the three day weekend, Lucas was going to visit his parents in Tree Hill, and he'd stop by and hang out with his best friend and brother, too. He hadn't told her he was coming, but she would be happy to see him nonetheless, he was sure, because he knew he was anticipating seeing her. He did miss his best friend, even though he had made new friends in Charleston, Haley had always been the best friend he'd ever had.

The reason he was going to visit Tree Hill now was because he knew his mother only had a few months left to go during her pregnancy. To be honest, he was contemplating moving back, once she had the new baby, because he didn't want to miss on on his new siblings life, like he'd missed out on Lily's so much. He wanted to be a good older brother to this one, but he wasn't sure when he would make the move back.

Of course, he'd have to at least wait until the basketball season was over, but there were other reasons for waiting, too. He knew that she would be living in Tree Hill, and he didn't want it to seem like he was coming back for her. Part of him did wonder if he would be though, at least a part of him, because rumor had it, even though she had a 16 year old daughter, she wasn't married.

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Haley James-Scott stood on her front porch, watching impatiently as the blonde got out of the car and approached the house. She wanted to envelope the familiar figure in a hug as soon as she had seen the car parked in front of her house, but she had waited instead on her front porch, as her best friend came to her. She smiled widely as she was finally noticed and she finally got her hug.

With a grin, she pulled back and looked at the blonde she hadn't actually seen in years. His hair was long and shaggy and she knew he hadn't shaved in a while, but the look suited him. She didn't care if he was a scruffy version of himself, as long as he was here. "Lucas Scott, is that you? It's kind of hard to tell," she said jokingly.

Scoffing, Lucas lightly shoved his brunette best friend. She was right, though, and he knew that, so that stopped him from responding to her sarcasm. He instead pulled her into another hug. "It's me, Hales. Where are my nephews and neice?" he asked, and she led him into the house, calling for her family members as she did.

As soon as Nathan saw his brother, he froze, and Haley knew what he was thinking, but she flashed him a look that said he better not say anything yet. She knew he had to be told eventually that he wasn't the only one from their high school days who was in Tree Hill, but now was not the time. She wanted his first time hanging out with her kids to go well, and she didn't know how he would take the news. So she would tell him later.

When he saw that look, Nathan knew to keep his mouth shut, and decided it wasn't his business anyway. So he walked over and pulled his brother into a hug before introducing his brother to his children. James could vaguely remember his uncle from when he was little and Lucas had been around more, but neither Daniel nor Lillian really remembered him, so the adults had to explain things a little, which made things awkward for a bit.

By the time dinner was rolling around, Lucas had to leave to go to his mother's house, and Haley had to admit she was kind of relieved, because she already was having company for dinner, and she didn't want to have to explain that to Lucas. So she had invited him to come over another day, and he had left, barely ten minutes before another car pulled up.

When Peyton and Audrey came to the door, they were a little better received. Nathan hugged Peyton, before pulling back to examine her, and then her daughter. "Sawyer, it's about time you came back to Tree Hill. L.A really can't compare to this small town," he said, before turning to Audrey. "I have heard a lot about you, but I don't think I've seen you since you were about seven," he said, but she allowed him to pull her into a hug.

The group sat around the Scott table, and Haley and Nathan didn't question why she was back, which made Peyton feel a lot better. Mainly they talked about Nathan's basketball career, which was still going strong, which meant he was out of town most of the time, and their children. Haley did bring Lucas up after a while, though. "Hey, Peyton, I thought you should know Lucas is in town this weekend. I didn't know he was coming," she was quick to clarify.

There was a moment of silence as Peyton thought about this, and Nathan and Haley waited for her reaction. She finally smiled at her friends. "Well, I hope I run into him, then. It's almost like a reunion," she said, leaving out the fact that they were missing one person for this to be a real reunion. Neither Nathan nor Haley mentioned the missing brunette either, and the meal continued.

After dinner, James asked if he could go meet his friends at the Rivercourt, and Audrey asked if she could tag along. She was actually a cheerleader, and by choice, unlike her mom in high school, but she still liked to play basketball, and she was actually kind of good at it. The adults agreed, and James didn't mind either, so the teenagers took James's Ford truck over to the court.

James, some guy friends of his, Sean and Logan, and Audrey kind of fit immediately into the group, forming an instant friendship with Logan, while becoming instantly infatuated with Sean. She wouldn't admit it to her mother anytime soon, but she decided the move wasn't too bad, if there was hot guys for her to hang out with, and if she made the cheerleading squad, things could be really great.

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Less than a week after the blonde and her daughter moved back to Tree Hill, another mother/daughter pair moved into the small town. Brooke Davis and her 14 year old daughter moved into the house that Brooke had lived in while she was in high school. A house she hadn't been in since high school. She hadn't wanted anyone to know she was there, though she knew the press had spread the news that she was moving back.

Kristine Marie Davis knew that her mother didn't want to make it known that she was living in the small town, and a part of her was glad to not be enrolling in the high school, because she didn't want to make friends, only to leave them, and she didn't want to stay in Tree Hill. So she had agreed to being homeschooled, because she was also pretty sure this was just a phase her mother was going through, and she'd be living the good life in New York again soon enough.

What Kristine didn't know was that Brooke had no intention of going back to New York. She was tired of the life of glamour and fame, and she wanted to start over. She wanted to live in the small town she had grown up in again. She just wasn't ready for everyone to know that she was back yet, because she was worried about her reception. She didn't know how anyone would feel about her return.

As soon as the movers left, Kristine tried to disappear into her room. Brooke caught her daughters attention, though, and Kristine turned her intense blue gaze on her mother. "I know you don't want this, baby, but you'll get used to life here, I promise, and one day I'll let you go to the high school, but I want your father to know about you first. I just need to find the courage to tell him," she wanted to say that, but couldn't find her voice.

After a moment of staring at her mother, Kristine flipped her chestnut colored hair over her shoulder and continued to her bedroom, closing the door and turning on her music. Brooke stared at the hallway her daughter had just disappeared down, and sighed. She went to her own room and closed the door, getting out her sketchpad to work on designs. "Welcome home," she muttered to herself as she moved the pencil over the paper.

**A/N2: **_I know. I'm completely horrible, starting a new fic when I have so many others in progress, but this idea just came to me and I had to get it down. The next chapter will be a couple years down the line, when Peyton's daughter and Brooke's daughter are in their junior year. No, you won't immediately find out who the fathers are. It will take a couple chapters. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I guess we'll have to see what happens. This is the first time I'm starting a fic without knowing where is's going, really, but I was watching the pilot of One Tree Hill, and the idea for this alternate universe came to me. Tell me if you think I should continue, or if I shouldn't. If you're confused about some things, ask me, and if I can, I'll answer the questions, but most of the information should be revealed over time. So, whatcha think? Let me know._

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own anything in relation to One Tree Hill._


	2. Chapter 1

A couple years passed, and Lucas was only now moving back to Tree Hill. He had put it off last year after basketball season because he had wanted to win a championship with his team. He knew a part of him was avoiding living in the same town as her again, but he knew he was also out of excuses. His Charleston team were now state champions, and his second book was already published. He had just finished with the tour, the school year was starting soon, and he was going home.

At least he knew his parents would be happy to have him back in Tree Hill. He knew Haley would too, of course, but that was about it. He had heard from his mom that Brooke was back in town, and she and her daughter were kind of reclusive. Her daughter wasn't even going to the high school. He wondered how he felt about that, but he didn't think about it too much.

While he packed up the last of his stuff into his car-so little memories, for so many years-he looked at the apartment he'd lived in for fifteen years, and knew he should probably feel some sort of nostalgia for leaving it, but he didn't, much. He was more anxious to get back to his home. He left the key with the landlord, and then left.

When he made it to Tree Hill, Haley and Nathan were at his old house, waiting to help him unpack his stuff. Well, Nathan was going to help him. Haley just wanted to be there to say hi. "It's good to have you back, Luke," she said as she hugged him. He didn't feel the need to respond to that, but he happened to agree with the sentiment.

After about an hour, Haley realized that time had passed faster than she had wanted to. "Well, boys, I've got to go. Lucas, I'll see you soon. Nathan, I will see you at home later," she said, giving Lucas another hug, and Nathan a kiss before she hurried out the door, not mentioning where it was she had to head to so quickly.

Ten minutes later, Haley arrived at the building that she, Peyton and Karen had turned into a nightclub, which they'd named Tric. Peyton, with her all her musical experience from L.A. had approached Karen, who had all the business know-how from running the Cafe, with plans to make a nightclub in Tree Hill. Haley was there to give her own musical help. The three of them had managed to make the business thrive, and it was something they all loved.

The blonde was already there when Haley arrived, which meant that she had to explain why she was late. "Oh, I was just," she paused, knowing Peyton would hear the truth eventually. Besides, she already knew Lucas was coming back. Karen had told them as soon as she found out. "Lucas arrived today, and Nathan was helping him move his stuff in, and I was there to see him," she said.

With a smile, Peyton shook her head. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it? To tell me the truth, I mean," she said with a wry smile, telling Haley that she knew that Haley had been about to lie to her. "It's okay that he's back, and it's okay you guys are friends. I've told you a million times, ever since Karen found out he was moving back, there is no problems between me and Lucas. My moving to L.A. in high school had nothing to do with him," her words hitched as she tried to convince herself of the same thing.

Before Haley could say anything else, Karen came into Tric. "Hey girls," she said with a big smile on her face. She had her two-year-old son on her hip, but both of the younger women knew it was because of Layne's much-older brother that the grin was on her face. She noticed their look and quickly explained the reason for her grin. "Lucas is coming to dinner tonight," she announced.

Every Sunday night, pretty much since the three of them had started Tric together, Haley, Karen and Peyton, and their respective families, ate dinner together. Peyton supposed she shouldn't be surprised that Lucas would be joining them this Sunday night, since it was his first weekend back in Tree Hill, but she wondered if she shouldn't bow out. "If you guys want me too, Audrey and I can stay home. I don't want to intrude on your family time," she said quickly.

Both Karen and Haley sent her incredulous looks, but it was Karen who answered, as Haley grabbed Layne from her and took him back to the nursery they had set up for him. "Peyton, you and Audrey are every bit a part of this family as Lucas is. You've been here every day for the past two years. You don't need to miss dinner on his account. I'd be offended if you did," she said, before giving the younger woman a hug.

With a smile, Peyton hugged back. Those words were nice to hear. "I know, but he's blood and all, and I've only been here for two years. I was even more absentee than him before that. I guess I still can't believe you guys never hated me for leaving the summer after junior year, I guess," she said with a shrug, like she was trying to downplay her feelings, which she was.

Of course, Haley couldn't keep her opinion out of this conversation, so she couldn't pretend that she hadn't been eavsedropping. "Peyton, we understand that you had to go. You had a daughter to take care of all on your own and you had to do what was best for her. We all know what it's like to want to do what's best for our children. No one could hate you for that," she reassured her friend, getting in on the hugging action.

Feeling at least a little bit reassured, she smiled at the two. "Thanks, both of you. I guess I spent so many years in L.A, that I got used to not having any family around. It's nice to know I have people watching my back again. I think I missed that more than anything," she said, before deciding to change the subject. "Now, I assume we have some work to do today, considering we have a nightclub to run," she said, and that was that.

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Audrey was lounging on the couch, texting her boyfriend. "Mom, what the heck is taking you so long? You're usually rushing me out the door on Sunday nights. What's the deal?" she called again. She had been ready and waiting on her mom for nearly half an hour, and she was getting bored of it. For the past 15 minutes she'd been calling up the stairs for her mother every five minutes, and Peyton had called back that she needed another minute every single time.

This time Peyton was already at the entrance to the living room. "Chill out, daughter of mine. I'm ready to go. Besides, you know you're texting Sean anyway, or Logan, you know I've always thought you two would make a better couple than you and Sean," she teased her daughter, talking about Sean, the guy she had been dating for almost two years, and Logan, her best friend.

As Audrey stood, she scrunched her nose and stuck her tongue out, making a fake gagging noise. "Oh, please. You know that's gross. He's like practically my brother," she answered, taking in her mother's appearance. Peyton was wearing a pair of jean shorts, which were kind of short, but they looked good on her, and a tight black Ramones tee-shirt, paired with her leather jacket and Converse. Her curls were pulled up in a pony tail with a few framing her face, and her make-up was flawless, not too much, but enough to enhance her natural beauty.

Surprised that it had taken her mom this long to look so casual, she wondered why she had taken such care in her appearance. Was there something her mother wasn't telling her? "What's going on, Mom? You look," she paused, looking for the right word, "hot. I mean, you look more like a teenager than my mother. What's up with that?" she asked, partially teasing, but curious as well.

Biting on her lip, Peyton stared at her daughter for a brief moment before turning defensive. "Are you saying I'm not allowed to look hot?" she asked with a cocked eyebrow. She refrained from rolling her eyes, heading for the door instead. "Let's just go. We're going to be late," she said, her tone saying that the previous conversation was over.

Following her mom to the car, Audrey just shrugged it off as she felt her phone vibrate again. She pulled it out of her pocket and smiled as she read the text before sliding it open to the keyboard and typing a text back. She slid the phone closed again as she got into the car, and she made casual conversation with her mom as they drove to Karen and Keith's house.

Seeing Nathan and Haley's car, she parked behind it, noticing another car, one that she'd never seen before, sitting in the driveway where either her car, or Haley's SUV usually sat. She had a feeling she knew who it belonged to. Well, it was more than a feeling, really, because there was only one other person the vintage Mustang could belong to. Audrey noticed it, too. "Whose car is that?" she asked, checking her appearance in the mirror to make sure she was ready to meet a new person.

This time Peyton couldn't stop the eye roll. She knew exactly what her daughter was doing, and it reminded her so much of the woman who used to be her best friend, that if she hadn't known any better, she would have sworn that Audrey was Brooke's daughter. Peyton didn't like to think of Brooke too much, though, and so she forced the thought away, getting out of the Comet.

After another couple of minutes, her daughter followed. She had pulled her hair out of the messy ponytail it had been in, to let the curls fall around her face, and she had reapplied her lip gloss. "Audrey, this is Lucas who's here. It's not like he's going to care what your hair looks like or anything. You don't have to impress him," she said, sending her daughter a look.

The younger blonde had heard of Lucas, and suddenly the extra care Peyton had taken in her appearance made sense. "You mean like you're not trying to impress him? I can see what you're doing, Mom. You dressed to impress, and we both know it, so don't even try to deny it," she shot back with a look of her own as she followed her mother to the door.

Just when Peyton began wondering if Audrey was really hers, there were these moments, when Peyton knew without a doubt that this teenager had come from her. The curly-haired blonde was almost an exact replica of Peyton as a teenager at times, except, of course, for the eyes. Those eyes were definitely not from Peyton.

Shaking that thought, and ignoring her daughter's tone, Peyton walked into the house just like she would normally do. She entered the living room first, with her daughter behind her, and stopped in her tracks so quickly that Audrey ran into her back. "Pey Pey!" Layne's voice called out his version of her name and he ran over to her, but Peyton's eyes were focused on the man he was running away from.

The past 17 years had definitely been good to Lucas Scott. He had on a red tee-shirt and ripped jeans, and she immediately thought of the day her car had broken down, and he had fixed it by the side of the road. He looked just as good today as he did on that day, if not better. His hair was kind of shaggy, just the right legnth, she though, and he had stubble on his face that alluded to a manlyness that he hadn't excuded before, and then, of course, there were his eyes.

Even from across the room, his clear blue eyes pierced her, seeming to look right down into her soul, like the intermitten years since they had seen each other hadn't happened, and he could read her just as easily as he could back then. She wondered if that wasn't true. Could he see straight into her soul, and know that she had never stopped wondering about what could have been? She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to that.

As his little brother ran away from him, Lucas followed his line of sight, and saw the blonde woman he hadn't seen in far too long, in his opinion. His breath caught in his throat as he took in her long, toned legs. They definitely weren't as chickeny as they had once been, at least, not from this distance. She looked almost exactly the same as he had remembered her, except better, if that was even possible.

Taking in her complete appearance, his eyes trailed up her body until he met her green orbs. They were still deep and guarded, and breath-taking. His breath caught in his throat, and he stood, still holding her gaze. For a brief moment, he wanted nothing more than to cross the room and take her in his arms to see if she still tasted the same.

It took all his strength not to give in to the impulse, but as he stared into her eyes from across the room, even though he thought he saw the same desire reflected in her eyes, he couldn't be sure that he wasn't imagining it, because he wanted to see it. He had always been able to read her before, but he didn't know if time had changed that, and he wouldn't risk it.

Behind her mother, Audrey took in the way both blondes looked at each other, and she could almost swear she felt the elictricity flowing between them. She then noticed the eyes of the man, and for a second she forgot about her mother completely. His eyes were so like hers, it was almost like looking in a mirror. She hadn't given much thought to the identity of her father before, but she couldn't help but wonder if maybe Lucas Scott was her father.

The three blondes were suddenly distracted by the little boy they had forgotten was in the room. Layne Scott wasn't one to be ignored for long, though. He grabbed impatiently as Peyton's leg, reaching his arms up at her, indicating he wanted to be picked up. "Pey!" he shouted impatiently, slapping at her leg to get her attention.

With a smile that was more automatic than anything, Peyton looked down at the little boy, bending down to pick him up and give him a hug. He hugged her around the neck as he settled in on her hip. Audrey decided that Peyton and Lucas needed to have a private moment, though, and she grabbed the little boy, saying he needed to be changed, and left the room.

Neither Peyton nor Lucas had said a word to each other yet, and they were both suddenly aware of all the years that had separated them. Lucas put his hands in his pockets, and Peyton bit her lip as they both met each others gazes again. Then Lucas broke into a smile. "Peyton Sawyer," he said, finally walking across the room and pulling her into a hug.

In that moment, they both decided that the past didn't matter. Peyton felt so good with Lucas's arms wrapped around her again, that all she wanted to do was make up for lost time, and Lucas loved the smell of her shampoo, which seemed to be the same. Peyton's eyes drifted closed for a moment as she also took in a deep breath of his scent, which still sent shivers up and down her spine.

Neither of them really wanted to break the hug, but Haley came into the living room a few minutes later, announcing that it was time for dinner, and they were forced to break apart. She stared at them for a moment, and the way they both guiltily shuffled their feet, and she immediately knew something was going to happen between them. In her opinion, it was 17 years too late, but she decided to keep her opinion to herself. For now.

All throughout dinner, Peyton marveled at how smoothly it went, and how normal it felt, like Lucas had always been there. They all talked and bantered like it was 17 years ago, and no time had passed at all, except for the fact that there were kids involved now. There were only a couple of awkward moments during the whole evening, and even those passed quickly. The first one was when Lucas brought up the topic of Audrey's father.

Both Haley and Karen had already decided that Peyton wasn't going to give anything up about that, and they had accepted it, two years ago, but no one had warned Lucas. When he asked the question, the rest of the table, including Audrey, who was just as in the dark on the subject as anyone else, went silent and turned their gazes to Peyton, waiting for her reaction.

The blonde in question paused for a beat, sitting very still as she contemplated. She hesitated to give the explanation she had given the rest of them because she knew only Lucas could very well have the only arguement to her logical answer. She could only hope that he didn't think too hard about it, and accepted her answer like everyone else.

Clearing her throat, she focused on the blond across from her. "I know the color of her eyes, and we all know she didn't get that color from me, but if you remember, you were gone before the end of our junior year, and she was born in May, after I'd been away from Tree Hill for nearly six months, and we didn't even sleep together while you lived in Tree Hill. The father just didn't want to be a father, and I preferred to do this on my own anyway," she kept her voice even throughout her whole explanation.

After another moment of silence, during which the connection between blue eyes and green was almost tangible, Peyton blinked and looked away, unable to handle the eye contact anymore. She didn't know what he was thinking. She was almost scared to know. So she started up another conversation and everyone else did the same.

Not long after that, another sketchy topic was brought up: Brooke, who had been like the elephant in the room, the taboo topic, for two years. Peyton was once again surprised into silence, but this time she was more surprised at the flash of jealousy that flowed through her than the question. Of course he would be wondering about Brooke. "Well, I haven't spoken to her since she left Tree Hill, just a few months after you, at the end of our junior year," Peyton answered before the subject was changed by Haley.

While Haley took Peyton's attention, Audrey and James got into a conversation about the upcoming school year. They were both starting their junior year in a little over a month, and they were both excited for the upcoming basketball season, Audrey as a cheerleader and James as a basketball player. James was looking forward to having his uncle as his coach, though Lucas insisted that he wasn't going to go easy on him, or anyone else.

While Audrey, James and Lucas talked about school and basketball, Haley, Peyton and Karen were talking about the benefit they were planning to have at Tric. They had-well, Peyton had-gotten a bunch of bands from her label to play, including Haley James-Scott, and the proceeds were going to go towards a charity that supported breast cancer. The concert would be in a month, just before school started.

It was the first time they'd done something this big, and they were all hoping it would go well. Peyton had already started working on a CD that would feature some of the bands that would be playing at the club. The proceeds from the CD were also going towards the breast cancer foundation, and it would be coming out shortly before the benefit concert.

By the time the evening was over, Peyton was wishing she didn't have to leave Lucas. They seemed to have fallen back into that same easy friendship that they had kept up during their junior year. The only difference was they hadn't started making out behind Brooke's back, although, Peyton wouldn't mind that, the making out part at least.

When she got up to go, alone because Audrey had already gone off to hang out with the guys at the Rivercourt, Lucas stood as well, walking her to the front door, and then following her out to the porch. "You know, I can make it to my car on my own. I don't need to be escorted to it. It's right there," she said teasingly, pointing to her black Comet.

His hands were stuffed into his pockets and he looked down at his feet as he shuffled them. That was what indicated to Peyton that things were about to get heavy. She wanted to hear what he had to say though, so she just waited, which wasn't easy, considering she had little patience. "Peyton, I, um, well," he looked up and, with a confidence he hadn't had as a teenager, pulled her into a kiss. "I've wanted to do that all night," he said when the kiss broke.

For a moment, Peyton could not think of one word to say. She couldn't even remember her own name, if he had asked. The kissing was just as good as it had been in high school, if not better, because they both had more experience now, and they were more mature. The point was, though, that the same spark that she had felt her junior year had flowed through her just now, and she knew that what she had been feeling was more than just lust, even then.

Instead of saying any of that, she just blinked up at him for a moment, before pulling him back down to crash her lips to his. One of his hands slid to her waist, while the other moved to her hair, to hold her head to his. She threw her arms around his neck and laced her fingers in his hair, and they kissed each other fervently, with 17 years worth of surpressed passion.

It was only when Peyton needed oxygen that she broke away, and she had to take a step back, so she wouldn't jump him again. She needed a moment to sort out her feelings. "What was that, Lucas? I mean, we haven't seen each other for 17 years, then you come back into town, two years after I do, and just kiss me like that. What do you want from me?" she asked, her chest heaving as she tried to even out her breathing.

There was a pause as Lucas tried to figure out his own feelings. "Peyton, for 17 years, I've wondered what could have happened between us, if we'd ever gotten the chance to be a couple back then. Tonight I decided I don't want to wonder what if anymore. I want to try, and see what this could be, because I still feel the same feelings for you now that I did back then," he said, raising her chin so he could look into her eyes.

Then he took her hand, and placed it on his chest, above his heart, and he placed his other hand over hers. "I want it all with you this time, Peyton Sawyer, and it'd be really great if you didn't run from me this time," he said, injecting just a bit of humor into his tone, but his earnest blue-eyed gaze told her he was being completely serious.

As the silence drew on, and Peyton contemplated, Lucas felt his hope dwindling. Did she not feel the same things he did? He wouldn't allow himself to walk away, though, until she gave an answer. "Alright," she finally said, with a nod. "Let's give this a try, Lucas Scott. I don't want to run this time, and I don't want to wonder what if anymore," she said, and since that was that, he pulled her into another fiery kiss.

**A/N: **_I am so glad y'all liked this fic. Thanks so much for all the reviews. I'm sorry that I confused a lot of people, and I'll try to straighten that out now. Audrey and Kristine were both 14 in the prologue. I originally started the last chapter in this year, but then I changed it and moved it back a couple years, and I guess I didn't fix everything like I'd thought. Anyway, they are both 16 in this chapter, and they are the same age. Kristine is a few months older, but not older enough to put them in different grades. The next chapter should reveal Kristine's father, and maybe Audrey's. I'm not sure yet because it's not written. Anyway, I hope you like it. Thanks again for the reviews, and I hope you'll review this chapter too._

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own anything._


	3. Chapter 2

Grabbing the paper she needed, Peyton headed from her office to the bar of Tric. She needed to leave the list of wristband colors there for tonight. They changed up the colors every time, so no one could use an old wristband, and no one knew ahead of time which colors would indicate what. "What are you doing here so early?" Peyton asked when she saw Owen. His presence surprised her, because she had expected to be gone before he got there at 6:30 to start the evening shift.

With a confused expression, he cocked an eyebrow, and stared at her for a moment. "No, I'm running a little late, actually. I was sure you'd be long gone by now," he didn't really give her a chance to respond before he continued, explaining the confused look that was still on his face. "Were you humming just now? I think I've caught you humming and/or whistling more times in the past month than in the previous two years of working together," he said.

It took Peyton a moment to respond, because she was really considering his words. She realized he was right, but just shrugged it off. "Well, I have a lot more things to be happy about, recently I guess. I mean, things are going great with Lucas, and I'm confident that the benefit concert will go well today, because the CD has already done great. There's just a lot to be happy about," she informed him.

Before he could say anything else, she decided to get back to the matter at hand. She handed him the list. "Make sure you and your staff know thses colors. I will not have underage drinking in my club," she said firmly, even though she knew that Owen was always very strict about the wristband colors. She, Haley and Karen had hired a very good bar staff. The other two women had already left, since she was mostly the one in charge of the benefit, and she really needed to be going, too, so she would be ready in time.

An hour and a half later, Peyton was still running around her room, dressed in her robe, with her hair in a towel as she tried to figure out what to wear. She was running extremely late, because she hadn't been able to leave her office until 7, because last-minute things had kept popping up, and she didn't want to have to deal with them when she was with Lucas. Then she had managed to hit every red light going through town, which was completely ridiculous, but she had forced herself to sit through every one of them.

When she had gotten home, Audrey had just been getting out of the shower, so she had to wait for the water to heat back up, making it about 7:30 by the time she actually got into it, and now it was fifteen minutes to eight, which happened to be the time when Lucas would get here, and she still had to do her hair, and make-up, and choose something to wear, and she had no idea what to do about it.

The door to Peyton's room opened, and Audrey came into the room in a blue tank top and white tiered mini-skirt, with a pair of black Converse on her feet. Like Peyton had in high school, her daughter also preferred the classic Chucks. Audrey immediately noticed her mother's state. "You need help," she said matter-of-factly. Peyton paused mid-dig through her closet to throw her daughter a sarcastic look.

Letting the look roll off of her, she shrugged her shoulders. "It's true, isn't it? I mean, you have fifteen minutes, and you're nowhere near ready," she said, before taking charge of the situation. She stepped forward and moved Peyton out of the way. "Go do your hair. I'm thinking you should spray it with hairspray, but leave it curly and down. Lucas likes it that way, and it makes you look younger," she instructed.

Moving forward even more, she stepped into the closet to take Peyton's place in it, focusing on the clothes as her mother followed her advice. "I'm thinking for an outfit, you should wear something semi-casual, but still datelike. You'll probably be running around backstage, making sure things run smoothly, and you have to go onstage to announce all the bands, so pants would probably be better than a shirt," she mused as she dug through the clothes.

As Peyton moved on to her make-up, Audrey continued to dig, finally thinking of the perfect outfit for her mother. "Aha, here it is," she said, pulling out the silky green off the shoulder shirt, which Peyton hardly wore because it showed way more cleavage than she thought a mother should show. She tossed the shirt on the bed, then moved to Peyton's dresser, pulling open drawers until she found Peytons ripped black skinny jeans. "Pair this with your black converse and leather jacket, and you'll look bomb. I'm also thinking you rock some slightly dirty girl lingerie, because Lucas will love that," she said as she headed for the door.

Before Peyton could tell her daughter that she and Lucas hadn't taken that step yet, her bedroom door had closed. She rolled her eyes and continued to work on her make-up, decided to go with the outfit that Audrey had picked out. She was just finishing getting ready when she heard the doorbell ring. She wasn't sure if it was Lucas, or Sean to pick up Audrey, but she decided to go downstairs.

It was Lucas, she noticed as she descended the stairs. He looked up as she descended them, and their eyes met, and she smiled at him, lifting her hand in a wave. She still felt butterflies at the sight of him, and he looked good tonight, wearing a pair of jeans and a light blue button up shirt. "Audrey watched the two of them for a moment, glad that he was making her mother so happy, before she noticed that Sean's car had pulled up in front of the house. "Have fun you two, I'll see you there. Love you, Mom," she said before taking her leave.

Left alone in the house, Peyton and Lucas just stared at each other for a moment, both of them taking in the other. Lucas's breath had caught in his throat when he caught sight of her coming down the stairs, and he had to remind himself to take a breath. Peyton finally closed the distance between them, pulling him into a kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She smiled as she pulled away. "You know, I really like that. Remind my why we haven't been doing that for years," she said rhetorically.

The question wasn't meant to be answered, but Lucas answered anyway. "Because I'm obviously an idiot," he said, before pulling her into another kiss. "I could seriously do this all night.. Are you sure you have to go tonight?" he asked, only half-joking. Peyton looked up into his eyes, but her own mind was trying to search for a plausible excuse to tell everyone for her not going. "I love you,." the words slipped out of his mouth as he stared into his eyes. He just couldn't help it; her green eyes had him mesmerized.

And just like the flipping of a switch, Peyton's walls went up. He could see it in her eyes. Just like in high school, she was going to run away at the thought of any sign of real feelings, or commitment. She turned to pull away, opening her mouth to insist they had to go, but his hands on her waist tightened. He wasn't going to let her run away this time. "No, Peyt, don't do this. Please. Just tell me how you're feeling. Don't shut me out or push me away. It's okay if you're not ready to say it back yet. Just don't run," he said.

Averting her eyes, Peyton stood where she was. She couldn't look at him right now. It wasn't because she didn't love him, because she knew she did. She just didn't feel right saying the words when she wasn't being completely honest with him about everything. She just didn't know how to tell him the truth. She was afraid he would be the one to start pushing her away if she did.

With a tender touch, Lucas raised her chin so he could look her in the eye. His blue eyes gazed at her imploringly. She sighed. "I just, I'm afraid, I guess," she said, with no more explanation than that, but he didn't ask her for anymore, because he knew that was all she would say. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her crown. They stood like that for a moment before he pulled back and they left the house.

The ride was silent for a while, but by the time they entered Tric, Lucas had her laughing and talking again like normal. She took his hand as they entered the club, and it seemed almost immediately that one of her assistants was there, with some crisis. She bit her lip and looked at Lucas, who laughed at her. "No big deal. Go save the night, Peyton. I'll go get us some drinks from the bar," he said, waving her off.

It took twenty minutes before Peyton could tell her assistants that they could handle everything, and she was going to spend the next twenty minutes before the bands started playing with Lucas. She found him and came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Hey, you. I'm all yours," she paused, "for the next twenty minutes," she added, as he turned around. "Whatever will we do?" she pretended to think.

As he pretended to contemplate, he raised his eyebrows. "You know, I think I have a few ideas," he speculated. She raised her own eyebrows, as if intrigued. "We could do some of this," he leaned down and kissed her lips. "Or this," he moved his lips to her ear as he whispered the words, and began sucking on her earlobe. "Or even some of this," he said, moving his lips down to her exposed collarbone, to leave hot, open-mouthed kisses there.

Biting on her lip as her eyes slid closed, she realized that Lucas still knew exactly the spots that got to her the most. She wondered if sucking on the hinge of his jaw still elicted the same response from him. She decided to explore that theory, but before she could, they were interrupted by a voice. "Okay, guys, I know you'd like to think you're still two horny teenagers, but we're actually not anymore. Get a room," Haley's voice fell upon deaf ears as the blonde couple continued to kiss.

After another few moments, she turned to her husband. "Why don't you kiss me like that in public anymore?" she pretended to pout, but she quickly got over it as she caught sight of Keith and Karen stealing a few kisses of their own on the other side of the bar. "You know, since everybody's doing it," she said, wrapping her arms around Nathan's neck as her voice trailed off. She didn't have a chance to finish that statement before his lips were on hers.

From across the building, Audrey was watching her mom kiss Lucas, and then she saw Haley start making out with Nathan. She thought it was better than the scene closer to her. She turned her gaze on the guys next to her, who had still managed to get alcohol despite the wristband rules. She knew she should tell her mom what was going on, but she didn't want to get her boyfriend, and the rest of the varsity team in trouble.

Two of the guys were checking out the new chick and she couldn't help but study the girl too. Kristine had never been in Tric before, but she knew that the brunette was the daughter of Brooke Davis, famous fashion icon, who had been married and divorced more than anyone else in Tree Hill put together. The story was that when Brooke had divorced her latest husband, two years ago, she had moved her and her only daughter to Tree Hill, but Kristine had never started going to Tree Hill High school. Rumor was she was starting this year.

Immediately, Audrey didn't like the girl, but she supposed that it was mainly due to the fact that her boyfriend was one of the guys who kept checking her out. She downed the drink she was holding, her third of the night. She didn't know what was in it, because she kept getting them from Sean, when he managed to acknowledge her presence, but she had a feeling that it wasn't exactly non-alcoholic.

Once she finished the drink in her hand, she started stalking towards her boyfriend, deciding she wasn't going to take this anymore. "Why don't you just go over and see if she wants to screw you, it's obvious you want to," she slurred, poking him in the chest when she reached him. He looked at her for a minute, before shrugging and turning, like he really was going to go talk to her. "I swear, if you go over there, we're over," she said before he could take two steps.

That stopped him, but not really for the reasons she wanted him to be stopped. He turned to give her a condescending look. "For how long this time, Audrey? Is it for just an hour this time, or all night? Tell me now, because I need to know what I'm doing tonight," he called her bluff, sure she wasn't serious, not about them really being over, because they were broken up practically every other week.

His tone, and his words snapped something inside her, but the alcohol was probably the thing that pushed her close enough to the edge to fall off. "Damnit, Sean, why do you have to be such a jackass?" she asked, crossing her arms across her chest. Her voice was rising, but it was only high enough to be heard by the few people around them over the music. Those people turned instantly to the drama that was being played out.

Noticing the people, of course Sean had to make a scene. She would prefer to not be so public about their fights, but he was nothing without his fans, and he wasn't about to look like a wimp in front of them, even if he knew he should probably back down now. "Why do you have to be such a frigid bitch?" he shot back, raising one eyebrow cockily. The crowd around them gasped and waited for her response.

That was it, she decided. She would take no more of his shit. The tears wanted to well in her eyes, but she swallowed them back, keeping her pissed off look on her face. "You know what, go ahead and screw anyone you want. We're done. For good this time," she said, turning and walking away. She made it out of the crowd and backstage, going to a corner where she could be alone before she punched the wall. Then she leaned against it and slid down, burying her face into her knees and letting the tears come.

A few minutes later, she felt arms wrapped around her, and she instantly knew it was Logan, or she would have pushed them away. As it was, she buried her face in Logan's chest, and cried out all of her tears. He rubbed her back and whispered soothing words to her while she got it all out. She hated crying over Sean, especially on Logan's shoulder, but she wouldn't let anyone else see her cry for him. She wouldn't let anyone else see her cry period.

After she finished crying, he pulled back to look at her. Even with her make-up smeared, and her face wet with tears, he thought she looked beautiful. She looked up at him and for the first time noticed the way his dark chestnut colored hair fell over his green eyes. For a split second, she felt the urge to kiss him, and she wondered where the urge had come from, finally deciding to blame it on the alcohol.

Brushing her curls out of her face, he looked into her blue eyes and wanted to kiss away her tears, but knew it wouldn't be well-accepted. So he settled for wiping them away. "Come on, let's get you out of here and sobered up before you have to get home," he said, helping her to her feet, and practically carrying her out of the club, going out the back door so they wouldn't be seen.

When they made it to the car, she sat in the front seat, wiping her eyes and trying to control her tears as she drove. "I'm so sorry for this," she gestured to herself, knowing what a mess she must look like. "Seriously, I don't know why I acted like that. It's just, I think it really is over between me and Sean, and I've never actually felt like it was really over," she took in his expression, and decided to stop talking about what happened, because she knew Logan hated the way Sean treated her. "Sorry," she couldn't help but add again.

Instead of responding, he kept his eyes on the road. He didn't understand why Audrey put up with all of Sean's crap, and he never would. Even though the guy was his friend, most of the time, he treated his girlfriend like crap, and he let everyone know it too, and Audrey just allowed it. He knew if he opened his mouth right now, he would let his anger at Sean out on her, and he knew she didn't need that right now, so he just continued driving to the beach.

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Taking a deep, steadying breath, Brooke rallied her courage for what she had to do. She was going to tell Kristine's father the truth. Tonight. It had taken her a long time to come to this point, but she was going to have to go through with it now. Especially since Kristine would be going to school with her sibling now. She took another deep breath before pulling the keys out of the ignition, and getting out of the car, headed for Tric.

Immediately, she spotted her daughter dancing with some boy, and she wished that Kristine didn't have to witness this, but she had known that this would be where her daughter would show up after she had snuck out tonight. She didn't go over to her daughter, though, because she wasn't here to yell at her daughter, she didn't want to fight with Kristine again tonight. She wanted to tell a certain Scott brother the truth.

Spotting the man in question, she made her way through the crowd, headed in his direction. She had to take another deep breath as she got closer to him, but she would not take a drink, though the bartender offered when she made it to the bar. She had worked to hard to get rid of that particular crutch to backslide now. Maybe she would have just one after she had spoken the words she knew were going to change their lives forever.

There were still a few people sitting at the bar between Brooke and the man she needed to talk to. She wanted to wait until he had stopped with the make-out session he was involved in, but she didn't think her courage would last any longer. She stepped around the people seperating them, and tapped on his shoulder, getting his attention. He turned to look at her, and she stared him in the eyes for the first time in nearly 17 years. The face of the man that had broke her heart.

For a moment she really wished she had downed some form of alcohol. She needed the liquid courage more than she ever had in her life, but it was too late now. The moment that she had been dreading since that little line had told her she was pregnant was finally here. She couldn't help but blurt out her reason for being here, deciding the band-aid approach was the far better tactic, for her anyway. "Kristine is your daughter," she said as she looked into those famous Scott eyes.

It wasn't until she heard the others gasp that she realized she had just blurted the information to the other Scott brother and his beau, too. She wished she could take back the words, not because of her larger than she had expected audience, but because of the way those eyes scorched her, telling her that she had been right to keep it a secret, all the news had done was ruin lives. It wasn't until she noticed her daughter, with the boy she had been dancing with behind her, that she realized just how badly she had screwed up.

Before anyone could say anything, Kristine turned, grabbing the hand of the boy at her side, and taken off, pulling him behind her as she disappeared into the crowd. She didn't keep standing there, waiting for the verbal lashing she knew she would receive. She took a recently vacated seat at the bar, signaled the bartender, and downed her first drink in more than 16 years.

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Later that night, after Brooke had dropped her bomb, and Peyton had agreed to continue with the night as planned only after Lucas had insisted, Lucas was driving her home. She could barely concentrate on the fact that Kristine had grabbed Sean's hand when she had run away from her mom, and she didn't know where Audrey was-she had confidence that Logan could take care of her daughter, and she was more distracted by the fact that he would not stop ranting about what Brooke had done.

In fact, he was still going as he parked the car in front of her house. "How could Brooke do something like that? I thought I knew her, you know? I mean, she kept a kid from a guy for 16 years, and then comes in here and drops this bomb, like it won't ruin the lives of everyone involved. How could she be so self-centered? How could anyone be? I just can't belive it," he ran a hand over his face, pausing for a moment in his tirade.

Taking her one chance, Peyton knew what she had to do. She didn't intend to tell him the whole truth. He would hate her. Maybe she should, though, because maybe it would be easier not being with him if he hated her. She didn't think she'd be able to give him up otherwise, and she wasn't even sure if he would let her go. Only if she had to make him, would she tell him the truth. "Lucas, we can't be together anymore," she said, finally gaining his attention for the first time during the whole car ride.

Turning to look at her so fast she could hear his neck crack, his blue eyes studied her, even as he raised a hand to rub at his neck. "What do you mean, Peyt? Don't let Brooke's self-centered carelessness affect us. Come on, Peyton, please. I don't want it to be this way, not after we're finally getting our chance." he pleaded, but she slowly shook her head. "Can you at least tell me why?" he demanded.

Breathing in a deep, shaky breath, she slowly pulled her hand out of Lucas's grip, because he had taken her hand while pleading with her. "Because," she paused, not really sure if she could go on, and he reached out and took her hand again, not letting go this time, silently letting her know he was listening. The tears sprang to her eyes, and even she hated herself as she let go of the secret she had been keeping far too long. "Audrey is your daughter," she admitted, and his grip slackened, allowing her to pull her hand out of his and get out of the car, running to the house, before he could see the tears fall.

**A/N: **_I know I said you'd know who Kristine's father is for sure and you'd maybe know who Audrey's father is in this chapter, but I decided to flip it around. I'm not entirely sure who Kristine's father is yet. I know I had planned on it being Lucas, but maybe I can work the story around Nathan being Kristine's father. It all depends on what y'all think. So let me know! Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter._

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own anything._


	4. Chapter 3

The sun slowly rose over the horizon, falling upon a couple laying on the beach. The girl had her head on his chest, with one hand tucked up under her cheek, and the other arm flung across his torso. The guy had his arm wrapped around her back, and the other hand was on her arm, like he had been running his hand up and down her arm when they had fallen asleep. His chin was tucked down and his face was buried in her hair, which was splayed across his chest. There were smiles on both of their faces.

Beneath the girl's eyelids, her eyes began to move, as the sunlight interrupted her sleep. She blinked her eyes open for an instant before closing them again, turning her face into his firm chest and inhaling his scent. She didn't feel the sand beneath her until she recognized the scent of the buy beneath her, which caused her more alarm than the fact that she was waking up on the beach. The guy laying beneath her was not her boyfriend.

Sitting up blindly, she quickly remembered the pain and tears of the night before, and corrected the previous thought with a mental grimace. Ex-boyfriend. It took her a few seconds until she was able to keep her eyes open, and when she did, she noticed that Logan was still soundly sleeping, though the smile had slipped off of his face, as if he realized she wasn't there anymore, even in his unconscious state.

Her emotions ran wild as she studied his face, so content and peaceful in sleep. He looked gorgeous, and she couldn't believe she had never seen it before. She realized that even the day they had met she had noticed how good-looking he was, but she had been far too interested in Sean to really look at him. His dark hair flopped against his forehead in a way that made her want to run her fingers through it. She quickly put all those emotions she didn't want to define away. She wasn't ready to think about that.

It took her only another moment to register the fact that she and Logan had actually talked themselves to sleep last night, and she hadn't gotten home. She knew her mom was going to be worried sick, because her phone wasn't even on. She grabbed it, and turned it on, listening to all the voicemail messages she got, some from Lucas, some from her mom. She noticed that not one call was from Sean, but she was more focused on the what her mom and Lucas told her to really dwell on that fact.

As Logan finally woke up, he immediately noticed the play of emotions across Audrey's face, which finally ended on anger. "Damnit. Damn her. Damn _her _to hell. Damn him, too. Stupid Scott sperm. Damnit!" she shouted, trying to control the urge to throw her phone into the water. She settled for tossing it angrily into the sand at her feet instead. She didn't even notice that Logan was awake yet.

Alarmed, Logan sat up and gently touched her arm, wondering what was going on. "Audrey," he spoke tentatively, not wanting to be at the receiving end of her anger, because he knew what her temper could be like. He didn't want to be the one to unleash the fury he saw in the bright blue eyes as she turned them on him. "Are you okay?" he settled on asking, though he really wanted to know what happened. He knew she would tell him when she was ready, though.

Shaking her head, she put her face in his hands as she tried to figure everything out. She really wanted to lean into Logan's embrace and let him make everything better, but she was getting more memory back from last night, and she decided it wasn't the best idea right now. "Apparantly, my mom broke up with Lucas," she paused, then added the bigger news, "because he's my father," she was still trying to wrap her mind around it.

Lifting her head, she looked at Logan, who stayed silent, because he could tell that wasn't all there was. She nodded slowly, and kept going. "Brooke Davis dropped by Tric and dropped a bomb last night too, apparantly. Kristine is Nathan's daughter, which I guess is the reason Mom broke up with him, because he flipped out over it or something," she paused again, knowing she had to say out loud the words she desperately didn't want to be true. "Kristine is my cousin," she made a face, as if the words tasted bad on her tongue.

Silence hung between them, as they both digested this. Mainly Audrey was contemplating the fact that she finally knew the true identity of her father, but that information had come at such a high cost. She had a cousin-actually, two cousins, but she actually thought it was kind of cool Jamie was her cousin-too, and it had to be Kristine, the girl who she hated, because she had taken away Sean. She knew it wasn't truly Kristine's fault, but she'd rather blame her. Logan was wondering why it was so hard to reach out and comfort her.

If the same thing had happened on any other day, he knew that she would have been seeking a hug from him, and he would be telling her that things would be okay. Because of last night, though, he wasn't sure what to say to her, even though they'd spent all that time talking. He couldn't seem to form any words, and she seemed to be keeping her distance, so he was going to let her take the lead, and he'd do whatever she wanted him to do.

As if she was on the same wavelength as him, she looked up at him, throwing her hands up into the air as if in exasperation. "I guess I need you to take me to Lucas's house," she said, as if it was the most obvious solution. He didn't really get it, she could tell, but she needed to go see Lucas. She couldn't handle seeing her mom right now, and it was obvious talking to Logan was out of the question right now, and she wouldn't trust one of her friends with this, not yet.

Cocking his head, he looked at her curiously, wondering why the heck she had come to that conclusion. He knew that she knew him well enough to read the question in his eyes. She just shrugged and looked away from those striking green eyes. "Well, my list of things to do in this situation has always been talk to you, and then talk to the father in question. So I guess I'm moving on to step number two," she admitted, biting on her lip.

As the waves crashed onto the beach, neither of them said anything for a moment. He just stared at her intently, while she could feel that green-eyed gaze that always had been able to read her so well. He suddenly stood up and held out his hand. She looked at it for a moment, as if confused, before looking up at his face. "Come on, Rae-Rae. Let's go then," he used his nickname for her, reaching down and taking her hand so he could pull her to her feet.

They walked to the car and he started driving to Lucas's house. She leaned against him, and they both stayed silent because neither knew what to say. He knew she was thinking about what she was going to say to Lucas, and she was nervous about it, because she was biting her lip. He knew she needed silence while she thought things through, so he stayed silent. He just couldn't let her get out of the car without saying anything to her, though.

Just as she was about to get out of the car, he leaned over and grabbed her arm. She turned back and tried to penetrate his soul with those clear blue eyes, or at least, that was how it felt to him. He swallowed, but held her gaze. "Hey, Audrey, I just wanted to say," he paused, because he was still trying to figure that out. "It's all going to turn out all right," he finally finished, knowing that she needed to hear those words.

Of course, those were the exact words she needed to hear, and it really did make her feel a lot better, probably more than he even realized. She leaned across the seat, forgetting the night before, and gave him a tight hug, which probably lasted longer than a normal hug would last. "Thanks for being my best friend," she said before she slipped out of the car, exuding more confidence than she had before.

When she made it to the front door, he drove away, rightly assuming she needed to do this on her own. She sudenly wished she was still in the car with him, but she'd rather be here than near her mom. It really bugged her that Peyton had lied to her, lied to everyone, and told them that Lucas wasn't Audrey's father. What made her mom think she had the right to lie to everyone? She hated being lied to, especially by her mother.

Just as she reached up and knocked on the door, she noticed a car pulling up next door, at Nathan's. She spotted Kristine riding in the passenger side of a car that she had been in more times than she could count, and she froze, wondering what the hell she was doing there, and with Sean, of all people. What the hell was going on with them? She didn't know, but she wasn't even sure she wanted to find out. She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.

It was then that she remembered what her mom had said in one of her messages. 'I understand you may be upset with me about things, and, you're probably upset about Sean and Kristine, too, but please, baby. I need you to come home and call me, or something. Please,' her mom had pleaded. Audrey hadn't given much thought to it at the time, but now she wondered what her mom knew that she didn't know.

The sound of footsteps coming from the other side of the door, and the sight of the Sean's car door opening made her leap into action. She had to look around for a moment before she spotted the bush, and then she jumped into it before she could think twice about it. She knew it was stupid, to be hiding, but at the time she could think of nothing else to do. She suddenly didn't want to be talking to her father anymore, if that was what Kristine's reaction was too.

Before she even had the chance to think about moving, Lucas opened the front door, and she peeked from the other side of the bush to see him look around. She quickly ducked into hiding again before he could see her. He may have been confused, but then he seemed to see Kristine, heading up to his brother's doorstep, because he called out to her. "Hey, he's not there," Lucas called to the brunette, who stopped in her tracks and spun to look at him.

Noticing Lucas on his porch, Kristine took a few hesitant steps toward him, because he had been the one to call out to her. "Oh, um, hey, what are you talking about?" she called back hesitantly, and she stopped approaching him. She was trying to play innocent, and Audrey knew she was nervous about talking to her father, but she couldn't really care less that Kristine couldn't talk to Nathan, because Kristine was talking to her father, and Audrey had wanted to talk to him.

Running his hand over the back of his neck-a habit Audrey realized she had gotten from him-he smirked at the teenager. "I know you're looking for Nathan, and I wanted to tell you that he and Haley had a bit of a spat last night after your mom made her little announcement, and he stayed at his beach house last night," he supplied, and she nodded, and both of them stood there, neither of them quite knowing what to do.

Just as Kristine was about to mutter an excuse and leave, Lucas spoke up. "Listen, I know this must be a hard situation for you. You're probably having a hard time figuring out what to do, because I know I'd probably be going insane in your situation, but if you want to talk, remember, I'm your uncle now, and you can talk to me whenever you want. I might just know more than you think," he said in a sympathetic tone.

It was the tone that hurt Audrey the most. She knew he was talking about his situation with her, and it was obvious he didn't like it. She sat in the bush, wishing she could be anywhere but where she was, wondering when they were going to move, so she could get away and think about this. Her father didn't want her. She didn't want to live with her mother anymore. What the hell was she going to do? At this point, she only knew for sure what she wasn't going to do.

Breaking into her thoughts, Kristine asked if she could take him up on that offer, and Lucas invited her into the house. Audrey, still hiding in the bush, felt her stomach drop. Her own father preferred Kristine over her. She knew logically that he wasn't mad at her, he was mad at her mother, but the hurt just wouldn't condone her logical thinking. Kristine had taken away her chance to get to know her father, just like she'd taken away her boyfriend last night, and pretty much everything.

Needing to get away, Audrey fled as soon as the front door was firmly closed. She started practically running down the block, without noticing that Sean was still there. In fact, she didn't notice him at all until half a block later, when she saw the car following her out of the corner of her eye. She closed her phone mid-text and put it away as she turned to face him, waiting for whatever apology he was going to give her through the now-open passenger door.

When he just looked at her, as if he expected her to get in with no apology or anything, she scoffed and shook her head. She turned away from the car and began walking again, getting her phone back out and flipping it open to text again. She had expected an apology at the very least, even though she wasn't sure she could or would forgive him, but now she didn't even want to listen. He was never going to change. She wished she had realized that sooner.

A few seconds later the car was at her side again, the door still open. She ignored it, continuing to typed out a text as she kept walking, moving faster if anything. Sean kept at it, though, and finally she stopped and turned to send him her worst glare. "What the hell do you want from me now? What, you have to screw both me and Kristine, is that it? Well, I'm not going for that," she didn't wait for a reply as she stormed off again.

This time he put the car in park and got out, chasing after her. "Hey, hey, babe, wait," he grabbed her arm, but she whirled on him so fast, with a glare so full of hatred, that he immediately let her go. He didn't back off though. "Please, Audrey, you really can't expect me to believe you're not going to forgive me and take me back. Come on, babe," he said, taking another step closer to her, that cocky smirk on his face.

The fiery blonde wasn't having any of his crap. Not this time. "Well, you better start believing it, because I'm tired of all your crap Sean. You think you can act like a jackass to me in front of your friends, and I'll forgive it behind closed doors. Not anymore. I finally saw last night just how much of a jackass you really are, and I guess I thank you, for finally showing me the truth, but that doesn't mean we're not over," she turned on her heel.

As he stared after her in shock, she stopped after a few steps and turned back to look at him. He was sure that she had reconsidered, and so he had that cocky smirk on his face again as he waited for what he was sure was going to be an apology. "Oh yeah," she smiled sweetly, before narrowing her eyes at him as she continued. "Don't ever call me babe again," she said before turning her back on him once more and storming off again.

Before she could make it very far, a car pulled up next to her, and she had never felt more relieved to see Logan. Her dramatic exit didn't work very well if Sean could follow after her, which she was sure he would have done once he had gotten over his shock if she had continued on foot. She jumped into the car with a grateful smile to the driver as she told him to hit the gas. She only looked back at Sean once as he disappeared in the distance and his completely desolate expression surprised her.

Once they had turned the corner, she allowed herself to show weakness as she leaned on Logan for support. "Oh, I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't want to live with my mom. I don't really want the whole world knowing who my father is, not now that he's sympathizing with the stupid ho slut-bag," she paused, glancing at him to make sure he understood who she meant. He did, of course, though she could tell by his look he didn't appreciate her stooping to name-calling.

Blowing out a sigh, she didn't say anything for a long moment, and he knew that she was contemplating what to do. He wanted to suggest that she stay at his place, but he was hesitant to do so given what happened. Finally he decided it just didn't matter. If they were going to pretend it didn't happen, they may as well go back to acting like normal. "You know you can stay with me until you figure it out. My parents are away this week, some kind of business trip. You know the deal. I have the house to myself," he offered.

Biting on her lip, she considered the offer, then decided she had nothing to lose. "Thanks, Logan, seriously," she said, sending him the smile that he loved to see from her. She didn't know how much it affected him, of course, but affect him it definitely did. She scooted over on the seat and looped her arm through his, leaning her head against his shoulder with a sigh. "I'm really tired. I don't want to go home yet. Can't you just take me to your house for now?" she asked though a yawn.

Chuckling, Logan wrapped one arm around her shoulders as he drove with one hand on the wheel. He also placed a platonic kiss on her forehead. "Anything you want, Rae-Rae, anything you want," he said softly, though he knew by her even breathing that she had already drifted to sleep leaning on his chest. She hadn't slept much the night before, and the lull of a car was always enough to put her to sleep when she was overtired.

A few hours later, the sun was just beginning it's descent in the sky when she woke up again. When Logan had arrived at his house, she had woken herself up enough to get into the house and change from her party clothes from the night before into a big tee-shirt of Logans. She had then climbed right into his bed, making herself at home as she drifted to sleep amongst his scent on his pillows. She had proceeded to sleep most of the day away.

Now she was just laying in Logan's bed, wondering where he was. She couldn't hear any other noises in the house, and she didn't see a note anywhere near the bed. She decided she had to use the bathroom, so she got up, stretching enough that she knew her underweat peeked out from the bottom of his shirt, but she didn't really care, and ran a hand through her now-messy curls as she walked to the bathroom, looking for any sign of Logan as she went.

While she had been sleeping, though, she'd had a dream that had given her an idea. She finished in the bathroom and went downstairs, looking for Logan in the kitchen. She didn't find him, but she did find a note that said he'd gone for a quick run, and she could help herself to anything in the refrigerator. She opened the stainless steel appliance and looked at the food inside, finally grabbing a yogurt and a spoon before sitting on a stool at the island to wait for Logan.

It was just as she was finishing the yogurt and throwing the container in the trash that the kitchen door opened and Logan came into the house, sweaty, with his earbuds in his ears. She was bending down because she had noticed a smudge on her toenail, and he stopped in his tracks, staring at her ass, and the way it looked as his shirt rode up, exposing it. He didn't see her lips moving because her back was turned to him.

Straightening when she didn't get an answer, Audrey whirled to look at him, raising her eyebrows and crossing her arms in front of her chest. He just stood there, staring at her, dumbstruck, as he realized that she had said something to him. He quickly removed his earbuds, and the hood of his favorite Navy colored sweatshirt. "Uh, yeah, did you say something?" he asked, pulling his iPod out of his pocket and turning it off.

Rolling her eyes, she turned and headed for the stairs. She knew exactly what he had been looking at. All guys were exactly the same, and so easy. "I said, I'm going to go upstairs and grab a shower for now. Then you're going to take me over to James's house. I have a few questions for his parents, his father in particular. I don't have much time before my mom flips a lid and comes looking for me," she said as she went upstairs.

Instead of answering, he walked to the fridge and grabbed a water, uncapping it and taking a long drink. He needed a quick shower too, but after seeing her like that, he decided maybe a cold one, after she'd finished wouldn't be so bad. He took her recently vacated seat at the island and tried not to think of what she was doing right now. He focused instead on the fact that she sounded like she had come up with a plan, finally. He wondered what it was going to be.

When she came downstairs, dressed in her clothes from last night, because she had nothing else, she found him outside and saw that he had removed his sweatshirt, and tee-shirt, and he was shirtless, still sweating, because now he was playing basketball. Her breath caught in her throat, and she had to bite down on her lip. That boy had a chest she could do laundry on, and it looked even better sweaty. She decided she really had to get over these feelings for him, because he was her best friend, and this sudden attraction to him was just too weird.

Well, really, that was why she had come up with the second part of her plan. After she spoke to Nathan and Haley, she was going to have Logan take her to her house so she could try to get her car without alerting her mother to the fact that she was taking it. If she could get away with that, she was going to go to Sean's house, and at least hear him out. He may give her crap sometimes, but she really believed he was a good guy, inside, and he was as close to normal as she was going to get right now. She desperately needed normal.

If she was really being honest with herself, she would probably admit that she already knew she was going to take him back, no matter what he said. She was running from her feelings for Logan, whatever those feelings happened to be, and she knew that Sean was like a safety net. He'd always been there, and they'd always been together. She wasn't ready to change every aspect of her life, including moving her best friend to the boyfriend category. And what if it didn't work out with Logan?

Instead of considering possibly losing her best friend, she focused on what she needed to do. "Alright, go grab a shower, sweaty, so we can get done with this. I would just borrow your car, but I want you with me when I talk to Nate, because you're the smart one, and you'll probably understand the process a lot better than I would, and you can help me. I really need your help with this," she said as he approached. "I'll explain when we get there," she added, so he would get going.

Twenty minutes later, the two of them were sitting at the dining room table in the Scott house, and Nathan and Haley were sitting across from them. They didn't know why Audrey was there, but then, neither did Logan. All three of them sat, waiting for Audrey, who was looking down at the table, to speak, to explain what was going on. "Well, I, um, I heard about your guys' relationship in high school, and what you did and stuff, and I guess I wanted to know," she lifted her eyes. "How do you go about getting legally emancipated?"

A/N: Okay, who expected that ending? I kind of didn't even expect that myself, to be honest. It just kind of happened. Y'all are lucky, too, because I changed my mind at the last minute and rewrote this chapter so Brooke told Nathan that he was the father. I don't quite know how I'm going to do this anymore, because I had planned on her being Lucas's kid, but we shall see where it goes, I guess. I hope y'all liked the chapter, and I hope you tell me what you think. I'll try to update soon, but I'm not making any promises. I will tell you the next chapter for this one is already finished. I just have to finish the chapters for my other fics before I can update.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to One Tree Hill.


	5. Chapter 4

As soon as Kristine heard the confession that came out of her mothers mouth, she froze. She had been making her way over to see her mom, because Brooke didn't usually come out in town, tending to spend most of her time in the house, away from all the places where she could be seen, but then she heard what her mom said, and she couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips. She looked at Nathan for a brief moment before turning her gaze on her mother.

Even though she felt everyone's eyes on her, all she could do was turn around and flee, taking Sean's hand as she did. She wasn't even aware of taking Sean's hand and pulling him through the crowd with her until she noticed that he was beside her when she broke through on the other side. She glanced at him. "Can you get me out of here?" she asked and he nodded. "Meet me in the front in a couple of minutes," she said, then disappeared again into the crowd.

Shaking his head, Sean wasn't sure why he followed her instructions, except that he was intrigued by her. Audrey had never talked to him like that, and he wouldn't have listened to her if she did, but he wasn't thinking about Audrey. He was focused on the girl who he had been dancing with for a while. He knew that he should leave without her, because he knew she was bound to be in an emotionally needy state, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

So when Kristine left Tric a few moments later, she found Sean sitting in his car right in front, and she got in with a relieved sigh, clutching something in her arms underneath her jacket. "Just drive," she said when he looked at her, as if waiting for her to tell him where they were going. He did, and once they were out of sight of the club, she took the jacket off of her lap, revealing a full bottle of Bacardi.

Seeing the bottle surprised Sean more than he would have expected. Not really because he didn't expect it of her, but more because he had never been able to steal from the bar. He had always had to sneak his alcohol in. So how the hell had she stolen a whole bottle from the bar, under the watchful eye of the bartenders? She ignored his shock, and took a deep pull from the bottle, taking a second for it to go down before taking another swig.

When she lowered the bottle a second time, she looked over at him. "You have a beach house?" she asked, and he nodded, stillamazed by her. Audrey had always been okay with drinking, if he didn't specifically tell her he was giving it to her. She always knew, but she preferred it to be unspoken. It was clear that Kristine never drank, by the way her face twisted with each drink, but she was adamant about getting drunk. "Let's go there," her voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

Turning at the next light, Sean drove out towards the beach, and his beach house, the car ride silent except for the sound of her drinking. She was trying not to think about what had just happened. She hoped that if she drank enough it would just wash the information away. She knew that was unrealistic, though, so she was trying to figure out what else she could do. She was coming up with a blank. She had never seen this coming.

When her mom had moved them to Tree Hill, she had known that Brooke had grown up in Tree Hill, and that she had gone to high school here, but Kristine had always been under the impression-thanks to Brooke-that Brooke had met her father outside of Tree Hill, and her father just hadn't wanted to be involved. Now she knew that was all a lie, and she was at a loss for what to do about it. She hated that Brooke had kept this from her. That was unacceptable.

Once the car was parked in front of Sean's beach house, Kristine got out of the car, stumbling a bit, because the bottle that she kept clutched in her hand was already nearly half empty, and Sean felt a strange urge to take care of her, to make sure she was okay. He didn't even care if he got anything out of it, he just wanted her safe. He grabbed her jacket, which she had left behind, and hurried after her as she bypassed the house and headed straight for the sand.

Plopping down in the sand, she kicked off her shoes, a habit that Audrey also had, and dug her feet into the sand, taking another swig from the bottle. She wasn't even paying attention to him, until he tried to take the bottle from her. She fought him for a minute, but he overpowered her, wrestling it away. "What the hell are you doing? Give that back to me now!" she demanded, as he took a drink, then tossed the bottle into the water. He was already drunk himself, but he knew she didn't need to drink anymore.

Scowling at him, she childishly stuck her tongue out, and crossed her arms, pouting. He couldn't help but laugh. She was drunk enough to not realize how silly she was being, but not drunk enough to forget why she was getting drunk in the first place. "Hey, you can't use alcohol to forget your problems. Believe me, I know just how much it doesn't work," he told her, looking out at the water for a minute.

With his gaze toward the waves, he didn't see her move until she had thrust herself at him, crashing her lips into his. He tried to push her away, but she pulled back for a moment, looking up at him with vunerable eyes. "Please. I want to do this," she said. If he threw away the booze, he could at least help her forget. He stared at her for a minute, but he was a red-blooded teenaged guy, and he was drunk, so he couldn't say no after that.

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Only two or three hours later, Sean woke up to the sounds of sobbing. He sat up slowly, noticing Kristine sitting a few feet away crying into her knees. He wasn't used to this kind of reaction. He was a little baffled, and felt that strange urge to protect her. "Hey, hey, what's the matter? I thought you wanted to do that. Are you upset about what you found out tonight?" he asked, moving closer to her.

Wiping her tears, she didn't even try to pretend they weren't there. "I'm so sorry. I just screwed up things for you and Audrey. I didn't mean to, I just, I don't know, I thought it would make everything better, or something. It was stupid, and I'm so sorry," she said, surprising him, because he hadn't thought about Audrey since they left Tric, and for a moment, he had to wonder what she was talking about.

Instead of correcting her, he just shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "No, it's not okay. Really. You guys are a good couple, when you're not being a jackass. You have to fix things with her. I'll never feel right about myself if you guys don't get back together because of me," she insisted. "She never has to know. I won't tell her, and you won't have to worry about me telling her, I promise," she assured him.

That wasn't what he cared about. For a reason he didn't understand, what was bothering him was the fact that she thought he was a jackass. He wanted to prove to her he wasn't, or at least he didn't have to be. If she wanted him to get back with Audrey, he was a bit disappointed, but he could do it. "Alright, sure, don't worry about it. This never happened, okay," he gestured between the two of them, indicating what they did. "Just don't cry," he added.

Pasting on a smile that wasn't completely forced, Kristine realized that she really did have feelings for Sean, but she didn't want to cause problems between Sean and Audrey. She knew they were in love anyway. They wouldn't have been together for so long if they weren't. She wished things could be different, but they just weren't, and she was going to have to accept that. If only her heart would be as logical as her head.

Maybe if she had been anyone else, he would have just left her then, and let her deal with whatever she was feeling on her own, but for some reason, he just couldn't leave her, not when he knew what a hard time she must be having now. "Hey, so I know we don't know each other that well, and maybe this is crazy considering what just happened, but maybe we can still be friends. You can talk to me, you know, if you want to," he was surprised to find he was nervous about her response.

Apparantly, she was just as surprised, if the way her eyes widened said anything. She just stared at him for a moment, then she shook her head, as if in awe. "Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked, then before he could answer, she held her hand up. "You know what,. it really doesn't matter," she trailed off, and stared at the water for so long, that he thought she wasn't going to say anything. "Yeah," she finally said, looking at him.

For a minute he just stared at her, unable to believe she had agreed to talking to him. He wondered if he had heard her wrong, and he cocked his head to the side as he looked at her. She found the words coming out of her mouth as if they were from someone else. "Yeah, sure, I'll talk to you. I mean, yeah, we don't know each other well, but maybe that's the point," she said, wondering where that had come from.

Instead of letting herself dwell on it, she just started talking. "Ever since I was little, my mom would drink, when I was in bed asleep at night, and she wasn't working on her company, which she did during all daylight hours, when she wasn't with whatever man she was with at the moment, she would spend her nights drinking and crying, and she used to get really drunk, and then come into my room at night, when she thought I was sleeping, and tell me stories about her past," she paused.

It felt freeing to tell someone this, because she had never breathed a word of her mother's drinking to anyone before, not even her mother. "I don't know how many times it happened when I didn't wake up, but I heard so many stories, stories about her best friend, Peyton, and stories about her and Peyton and Peyton's boyfriend, Nathan. She told me about the dreaded love triangle of her junior year, between her and Lucas and Peyton after Peyton and Nathan had broken up, and she told me Nathan had found his soulmate in Haley," she just realized that Haley was now her step-mother.

Shaking herself out of the present she focused on the past, because it needed to be explained first. "She told me about all the friends she regretted leaving, but she said she didn't regret the way things happened, because she had gotten me out of it, even if she had lost my father. I never understood what she meant by that, except, I always thought that she must mean that he didn't want me, so he had left her because of me," she stared at the waves hitting the shore lost in the painful memories.

Running a hand through her hair, she forced herself to continue. "I finally understand now. She regretted leaving Tree Hill, but she had to, because she was pregnant, and she was too chicken to tell Nathan. Damn her, for lying to me all these years. I have a brother, and a father, and a stepmom, and she never told me the truth. How the hell could she keep this from me, and then go and blurt it out at the club tonight? I should have known the truth," she broke off.

Suddenly, she was choking on tears, unable to hold them back any longer, and she felt Sean's arms around her, holding her tightly as she cried into his chest. It felt so good, she couldn't even push him away, though she knew she should. He whispered soothing things into her hair, letting her cry out all her tears as he comforted her, and eventually, she cried herself to sleep in his arms.

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By the time the sun crested over the horizon, Kristine was awake again, but she didn't move away from Sean this time. She was enjoying the safety she felt in his arms. She remembered everything that had happened, but she didn't feel as worried about it anymore. She felt like she could take on anything if he supported her. She knew that she had to forget those feelings, but for now she wanted to bask in it.

When she felt Sean stir under her, she knew he was awake, but neither of them said anything for a long while, neither of them wanting to end the moment by acknowledging that they knew the other one was awake. It wasn't until the sun began to climb higher in the sky that Kristine realized she just couldn't sit here and do nothing anymore. She had to do something. She just had to figure out what that was going to be.

After taking one last moment to soak in the feeling of safety, she pulled away from Sean and sat up, deciding the first thing she would do would be to talk to her father. If he wanted her, she would live with him, and if he didn't, well, she guessed she would just have to deal with that if it came to that. She wasn't sure she could live with Brooke and all the lies anymore, though, even if the drinking had stopped, the lies never had, and she couldn't stand that.

What bothered her the most was the way Brooke had betrayed everyone she had been close to. She had betrayed Peyton, by sleeping with her ex-boyfriend, even if Peyton and Nathan hadn't been together at the time, there are some bonds that aren't meant to be strained. She supposed her mother would argue that Peyton was now with Lucas, and that the bond of their friendship had already been tested, but Kristine figured why cause more strain on something that had already been strained enough.

It wasn't only the blonde that Brooke had betrayed, either. Brooke had betrayed Nathan, by taking Kristine away from him without telling him about her, or even giving him the chance to decide if he wanted her or not. She had also betrayed her friendship with Haley, because although they may not have been married-Kristine wasn't sure when she had been conveived-when it had happened, Brooke had been the one to help Nathan and Haley get their act together.

Trying not to dwell on any of that right now, Kristine stood, straightening her clothes and wishing she could take a shower. As if reading her mind, Sean spoke up. "There is a bathroom in the beach house," he gestured to the house behind them. "You can use it. I promise not to try anything," he held his hands up in surrender when she studied him skeptically. He laughed at her trepidition, his trademark smirk on his face.

Just to probe she wasn't scared of him-well, she was, but not in the way he was thinking-she ignored his laughter and headed towards the house, waiting silently for him to follow and unlock the door when she realized it was locked. He kept that smirk on his face, and in a way, she was glad, because it reminded her that he wasn't always as nice as he had been to her last night. It gave her a reason to stay away from him.

Inside, the beach house looked even nicer than it did from the outside, and it looked pretty great from the outside. She had grown up in nice houses, once her moms company had taken off, but she couldn't help but admire his place, and it was only their beach house. She wondered what the house he lived in looked like, and then tried to convince herself that she was never going to see it. She didn't even want to see it.

As she tried to believe that lie, she went to one of the bathrooms upstairs and found a towel on the rack, locking the door before she started dressing, no matter what he had said. She showered, letting the massaging showerhead work out all her knots in her shoulders and back. It felt good to have the hot water pounding down on her, and she lingered in there longer than was necessary, but it was better than facing the real world.

Stepping out of the shower, she toweled off, wondering what she was going to say to her dad, now that she knew who he was. She hadn't really thought about that part of it, really. She had been more focused on everything but that, and now she was going to have to step up and face it, on her own, and she didn't know how he was going to react to her. Was he going to want her, now that he knew about her, or would he prefer to keep his perfect family just that, perfect? She was scared of the answer.

On the one hand, if Nathan did want to be involved in her life, what would Haley think? Would Haley hate her, because she was her husbands daughter, with another woman? What was this going to mean for Nathan and Haley. From what she could remember of Brooke's stories, the two were perfect for each other, even then, and if they had a child now, they had to love each other even more. Would Haley resent Kristine, for coming in and possibly ruining their happiness?

Considering the other option though which would probably include Kristine living full time with her mother, acting as if nothing had happened if Nathan didn't want her, Kristine wasn't sure which she would prefer? Would it be better to live in a house with a father and his wife who might hate you, or a mother who had lied to you your whole life? She was leaning toward the former, but she really wasn't sure.

None of this factored James into the eqation, though. What would her half-brother think of her? Would he be glad to have a sibling, or would he rather have nothing to do with Kristine? She wasn't even sure how she felt about having a brother. She wondered if James even knew yet, or if Nathan and Haley had yet to tell him. He hadn't been around last night when Brooke had made her announcement, so Kristine couldn't be sure.

Slipping back into her clothes, she towel-dried her hair as she left the bathroom, searching for Sean. She found him in what appeared to be his room in the house, his hair wet and water droplets sliding down his revealed chest. She stared at him in shock for a full minute before realizing that he must have taken a shower, and she was staring, which wasn't really helping her plan to make him think she didn't like him.

Fortunately, his gaze wasn't on her, so he didn't notice her staring, she hoped. He hadn't even noticed her there, as far as she knew. She cleared her throat to get his attention, and followed his gaze to a picture of him and Audrey on the nightstand next to his bed. She tried not to let that get to her as she looked back at him. "Are you ready to go then?" she asked as he grabbed a shirt and threw it on.

Nodding, he grabbed the towel from her and threw it in the hamper as he followed her out of the house. She went to his car, and got in, trying to convince herself she was ready for this as he got in as well and started the car. She must not have been doing that good of a job, because he glanced at her as he stopped at a redlight. "Are you sure you really want to do this?" he asked her, and she hesitated before nodding. "Then why do you look like I'm leading you to the chopping block?" he cocked an eyebrow.

Blowing out a sigh, she realized he was probably right. "It's just, I've always thought I've known exactly how things were. I knew pretty much where I stood with my mom all my life, and I thought I knew where I stood with my dad. I've always had a sense of who I am, and now it just got thrown up in there, and I guess I'm scared to find out where all the pieces are going to fall," she wondered why she was telling him this, if he cared.

Eyes on the road again, he spoke when he was sure she was finished. "Listen, you're still you, no matter who your father is. You are Kristine Davis, or Kristine Scott, if you choose to change your name. Only you can decide who you are, Kristine, and only you can change it, if you want to. Nothing anyone else says, or does, is going to change you, unless you allow it to," he said, wondering why he cared enough to tell her that.

Those words really did touch her, and she was surprised by his wisdom. He pulled over, and she realized that they were at Nathan's house. Swallowing the sudden sense of dread, she looked over at him. "Thanks, Sean, really. You really are a good guy, you know, when you're not putting on a show for everyone else. Audrey's a lucky girl. I hope she appreciates that," she said, before opening the door and slipping out of the car.

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After leaving Lucas's house, Kristine decided to take her chances, and head over to Nathan and Haley's house. She gathered her courage and knocked on the door. Haley opened the door a few seconds later, and she just stared at the teenager for a minute. Kristine fidgeted on the porch, wondering if Haley was just going to shut the door in her face, before Haley smiled and drew her close for a hug. "Come in," she stepped back and opened the door wider.

Surprised by the hug, Kristine stepped into the house and followed Haley into the living room. Haley gestured to the couch and then took a seat on the loveseat opposire of the couch once Kristine sat down. She told Kristine that she had just got off the phone with Nathan, and Nathan was on his way home. Then silence descended over the two of them, and Kristine just had to break it. "Why don't you hate me?" she blurted out.

The words startled both of them, but once they were out, Kristine couldn't take them back. Haley sent her a smile, but it quickly dropped. "Last night, you wouldn't have asked that question. I really came down on Nathan and I blamed you, but it wasn't your fault. It's not Nathan's either. Both of you guys are the victims here, and you don't deserve my hatred. Besides, I could never hate someone who's a part of Nathan," she said.

This actually made Kristine feel better. That was one person who could hate her right now, that didn't. She only had to get through two more. She raised her hand to her mouth, and had to bring it back down again before she began chewing on her nails. "Thanks, Haley, that really means a lot to me. I don't know how I'm going to live with my mom anymore. I don't think I can trust her after this," she said, running her fingers through her hair.

An idea brightened Haley's eyes, and she knew she should talk to Nathan about it, but she had been considering it all night, and after what Kristine just said, she decided this could possibly be the best thing. "I think you should move in with us," she declared, and then saw the look on Kristine's face. "I mean, I haven't talked to Nathan yet, but if you want to, I think it would be cool to get to know you, and I'm sure Nathan will feel the same way," she added.

It surprised Kristine that Haley made this suggestion, especially without talking to Nathan, but if this would work out, she thought she might prefer living with them as opposed to living with her mom. She still didn't know how she was feeling toward her mom, and she did want to get to know her father. She found herself nodding, smiling back at Haley, thinking that this meeting, at least, had gone a lot smoother than she had thought it would go.

Before Kristine could formulate her response into words, the front door opened and Nathan entered the house. Haley called out to him, and he entered the living room a few moments later, his eyes taking in the scene before him. "What's going on here?" he asked, interest peaked in his tone, as he wondered if this was good or bad. He wasn't sure what their reaction to each other was going to be, and he didn't want either of them to say something to hurt the other.

Both of them smiled at him, though, so he had a feeling the interaction was going well. Well, Haley smiled at him. The corners of Kristine's mouth twisted up for a moment, but then she was staring at him as if wary of what he was going to say. Haley spoke up before either father or daughter could. "So, I was thinking Kristine should move in with us, if she wants to," she added the last part because Kristine really hadn't gotten the chance to answer.

While Nathan and Haley turned their gazes to Kristine, Kristine turned her gaze to Nathan. She didn't want to say what she thought of the idea until Nathan had given his opinion, because she didn't want to differ say yes and then have him say it was a bad idea. Haley turned her gaze to her husband, almost as if reading Kristine's mind. He just stood there for a minute, then he shrugged. "I think it's a great idea, if you'd like to," he said, and Haley looked at Kristine again.

Smiling warmly, Haley took her husband's hand, glad that he agreed with her, and didn't get upset that she had asked Kristine to move in with them before consulting him. She was also glad that they could fight, and he could spend the night in the beach house, and then still come in and stand on the same side of a discussion. "So, what do you say? We'd love to have you here, but like Nathan said, only if you want to be here," she said.

Just as Kristine opened her mouth to say yes, another voice broke into the conversation. "You're inviting her to live with us? That's just great. Was anyone going to ask my opnion, or do you just want to give her my room? I live here too, you know," James shouted from the doorway of the living room, and as they all turned to look at him, he stormed away, and the front door slammed shut a few seconds later.

Now Kristine wasn't sure what to say. Both Haley and Nathan were still staring after their son, and wasn't sure she could really do something that would cause tension between James and his parents, even if Nathan was her father, too. She still wanted to move in with them, but now she needed time to think. "I need to think about it," she said, softer than James's earlier harsh tone, and then she scurried past them and out the front door, closing it much softer than the slam of moments ago.

As Nathan stared in the direction of the front door, wondering why both of his kids had run away from him in just moments, he sank onto the couch, wondering how he had turned into Dan, with both of his children, who had different mothers, mad at him. Haley sat next to him, knowing what was going through his mind, and laid her head on his chest, using her fingers to draw abstract designs across his chest. She didn't know what to say, so she said nothing.

Hours later, he still hadn't heard from either James or Kristine, and he was worried about his son. Kristine could go back home, for all he knew, but James, James lived here, and he wasn't in the house. Haley was getting ready to call the police, but he managed to stop her. There was a knock on the door, and Haley and Nathan both walked to the door. Haley got there first, and opened the door to reveal Audrey and Logan.


	6. Chapter 5

After spending all night crying over Lucas, Peyton finally realized that her daughter had never come home. She had called Audrey when she had gotten in, so she could tell her daughter the truth before anyone else got to her, and had ended up leaving a message, because Audrey hadn't answered, but she hadn't expected her daughter to stay out all night, even if she was angry, she had never stayed out all night without calling before.

With that in mind, Peyton called her daughter countless times before sunrise, all to the same result: Audrey's phone was off. Peyton realized that this was different than any other time her daughter had been mad at her, and she decided to give it another few hours before doing anything more. She knew the cops would only tell her that they couldn't do anything anyway, and Audrey always came home when she was ready.

Deciding to just wait her daughter out, at least until it had been long enough that she could call the police, if it came to that, Peyton turned on her music, and laid on her bed, trying to stop the flow of tears that didn't want to stop. She could understand Lucas not wanting anything to do with her. She had, after all, done a pretty bad thing to him, but she had had her reasons the whole time. She hoped that he might understand that, one day.

While she waited for her Audrey to come home, Peyton had to convince herself not to go to Lucas and beg him to forgive her. She knew she had to give him time, and it wouldn't be easy for him to ever forgive her, and she wasn't going to throw away her pride and dignity just yet, even though a big part of her just wanted to say screw her pride, and call up Lucas and cry and beg for forgiveness.

Knowing Lucas, she had to wait for him to be ready, not the other way around. She wasn't even sure he ever would be ready to take her back, and she knew she would have to accept it if it came to that, and she'd just have to remember that he'd given her the best month of her life, and that might be the only month of true, unabashed happiness that she ever got. She had to leave the ball in Lucas's court, and maybe one day she'd get to be that happy again.

As she thought about what the future was going to hold, she realized that she was going to have to answer everyone's questions about the truth, now, and she was going to have to be completely honest. She was going to tell Audrey the whole story first, whenever she got home, and then she would have to tell Lucas, whenever he was ready for that, and then she would have to answer everyone else's questions as well.

The worst part of that wasn't what everyone was going to think of her. She knew they would all forgive her eventually, and accept the reasons she had, because she knew that was just the kind of friends she had. She was dreading bringing up that part of her life again, and having to remember how hard it had been. She would do it all again in an instant, but that doesn't mean it hadn't been hard, having absolutely no support at all.

Before she could realize how much time had passed, it was getting to be late afternoon, and she realized she must had fallen asleep for a while. She also realized her daughter still wasn't home, and she was now beginning to get worried. Audrey always at least called, even when she was pissed at Peyton, because she knew that Peyton would freak out and call the police, and get everyone stirred up if she heard nothing from her daughter.

First, she called Sean, and it wasn't until the conversation wore on that she remembered that something had happened between her daughter and Sean, and because of that, he didn't know where she was. She called Haley and Karen, and neither of them knew anything either, which caused Peyton's worry to rise even more. She called Logan, too, but his phone must have been off, too.

With her worry reaching it's peak, Peyton did the one thing that she had not been wanting to do, especially not this soon: she called Lucas. She hurriedly explained what was going on, her worry causing strain to leak into her voice, and tears to slip down her cheeks. She didn't need to finish the whole explanation before Lucas had said he would be there soon, and she heard the click of the line being disconnected.

It wasn't until then that she realized that there had been distance in his voice and she tried not to dwell on that, because she had enough other things to worry about. She hoped that she could be as distant as he was apparently going to be, and she realized she was going to have to focus solely on Audrey, unless he wanted to talk about the past, or she was going to lose her self-control.

Jumping into the shower really quickly, she tried to get rid of the evidence that she had done nothing but cry over him all night, putting on fresh clothes, make-up to cover up the bags under her eyes, and pulling her now-wet curls into a pony tail. She didn't want him to know how hard this was on her, because she wanted him to take her back, if he ever did, because he wanted to, not out of pity or obligation.

When he arrived, she had put on a pot of coffee, because she wasn't sure what else to offer him, and she offered him some tuna salad she had made because she hadn't eaten anything all day, though she didn't mention that to him. He remained distant, only replying when she asked him a direct question, or asking something pertaining to Audrey. She almost wished he would act angry, instead of indifferent to her.

After she had eaten, they went to the living room, and she held a cup of coffee in her hands, just so she had something to do with them as they both waited, silence encompassing the living room. She was getting ready to call the cops, but she knew that since Audrey was angry with her, and she hadn't really been missing for 24 hours, they would do nothing, and she didn't want to waste time on the phone with someone who wouldn't understand.

As the time slowly dragged on, Peyton thought that she was going to go insane with the silence. She wished she knew what he was feeling, but he kept his face emotionless. She wished he would yell at her, ask her questions, anything. She didn't say that, though. "She's never done this before. She never stayed out all night, not without calling me stayed out of the house this long before, even if she only came home for a minute to get something and leave again," she murmured.

For a minute, Lucas didn't say anything, and she wondered if he planned on just ignoring her the whole time. She was going to go crazy if he did. He ran his hand over the back of his neck, staring at nothing. "You straight up lied to me, Peyton, when you told me she wasn't mine. Why did you do that?" he asked, still keeping his eyes trained on anything but her.

Hearing the disappointment in his voice, she realized that maybe this wasn't any better than the indifference, but then she knew that some emotion was better than none, even if the disappointment hurt. She winced, but he couldn't see it, because he still wasn't looking at her. She had also heard the little bit of anger in his voice, beneath the other emotions. She decided to draw from that, instead of anything else.

Since she had been trying to figure out a response to a similar question to that all day, she should have had an answer ready. She didn't, really, she just had to say what she felt. "I didn't know this was going to happen, Lucas. At the time, I thought it was the best thing. I didn't know if you were really back here for good. I didn't want to change everything, throw everyone's life into upheaval, only to have you disappoint her by leaving again," she said calmly, wishing she hadn't used those words.

Closing his eyes, she could tell he was controlling his anger, and she wished he would just let it out. They would never get past this if he didn't let all his emotions out. Repression wasn't going to help anyone. He took a deep, forcibly even breath. "Why didn't you tell me the truth way back then, Peyton? We never would have been in this situation at all if you had," he spoke in the detached voice that had plagued her since she had called him.

Allowing herself to let a little anger to slip into her voice, because this was what had hurt her, and she was going to tell him the honest, brutal truth. "How was I to know what you would do, Lucas. At the time I found out about her, you were gone, moved on to your new life. I didn't know what you would do with the news. All I knew was that you had abandoned me without word and I didn't want you to do the same thing to my baby," she shot back.

This time, he couldn't resist looking at her, and she saw the flash of emotion in his eyes, and she was almost glad she had got him to feel something, even if she knew the words would hurt her in the end, she knew he would need to say them, and she was willing to sacrifice her emotions to allow him to become at peace with this. It was hard to remember that when she saw the anger in his blue eyes, directed at her, though.

Focusing on his words instead of his eyes, she realized that didn't help, but she tried to keep her emotions off of her face. "You honestly think I would have turning you away, or something? You really think that little of me? I thought you knew me better than that, Peyton," he stared into her eyes, the blue boring into her green, trying to read emotion she didn't want to let him see.

Though she was pretty sure she was keeping her emotions locked up, she could feel the tears welling in her eyes, and though she didn't break the eye contact because of them, she knew that he did. He ran a hand through his hair and she wondered if he just couldn't bear seeing the tears, or if he couldn't bear looking at her period. The anger that had been in his voice made her unsure.

As she fought to control those tears, she waited for him to gain control of his temper. "I was alone, Lucas, and scared. I didn't know what to think, or what you were thinking. For all I knew, you had a girlfriend, and a life you wouldn't want to give up. You hadn't called me since we had sex. What did you expect me to think?" she left out that she had felt used, turning away from his back turned to her, crossing her arms around her middle so she wouldn't comfort him like she ached to.

Running his hand through his hair, he heard the desperation in her voice, and knew she was trying to make him understand. He blew out a sigh. He wasn't sure he could understand. "I expected you to tell me the truth, Peyton, always. I expected you to be honest with me, especially about something like that. This would have changed everything. How could you not understand that?" his voice was softer, but exasperated.

Turning, she saw his blue eyes staring down at her imploringly, but she wasn't going to meekly let this one go. He had a lot of right to be angry, she could admit that, but she was not going to stand there and judge her. He had absolutely no idea what she had went through, how long she had agonized over the decision, how many nights she had laid in bed after making it, wishing she could take it back.

Pointing her finger at him, her green eyes flashed with anger. "Don't you dare, Lucas Scott. Damnit, don't you dare stand there and judge me. You may not understand, but I gave up my whole life. Maybe it was the wrong decision, according to you, but there was not one moment I didn't do what I thought was best for my daughter, not one decision I made without her in mind," she paused, but she wasn't done.

With what she felt was righteous anger she went on. "I gave up everything, sacrificed my life, my friends, people who were like family to me, while you were off doing God knows what. You ran away, Lucas, from me, from everything. I didn't know what you would do. I can't change what I did, but I never once did anything that wasn't for my daughter," she broke off, letting the anger die down as she looked away again.

Before he could think of it, he stepped forward, and just as he was going to reach out to comfort her, he seemed to realize what he was doing, and he dropped his hand and stepped back again. She saw this in her peripheral vision, and she closed her eyes as he stepped back. He wouldn't get over this, she knew, and even if he did still love her, she wasn't sure he could forgive her.

There was silence for a while as Peyton waited for whatever he was going to do next. He seemed to be contemplating whether he wanted to continue this conversation now or not. "I guess it's not really important right now. I don't think we're done with this conversation, but we both need to cool down," he finally said, then changed the subject to the present instead of the past.. "She's not answering her phone?" he asked.

Grasping at the change of subject, she decided to call again. She grabbed her phone, but before she could dial the number, the front door opened, and both of them looked towards the entrance as Audrey, as if being called by their thoughts, sauntered in, followed by Logan. "Good, you're both here," she said, before either of them could say anything. Logan stood behind her, in a way that made it clear he wished she hadn't made him come inside.

Both of her parents were surprised by her take charge attitude, and her statement, and neither could form any sentences before she went on. She addressed her mother first. "I am filing for emancipation, on the grounds that you've lied to me my whole life, and you've always been so busy working, and I just can't deal living with a liar anymore," she said, keeping her face emotionless, as she crushed her mother's world.

Turning to her father, she paused a moment, as if bracing herself for this part, but she didn't hesitate long enough for anyone but Logan to notice, and their definitely wasn't enough time for anyone else to speak. "You, as far as I'm concerned, aren't my father, and have no say. You're little more than a stranger to me, except for the fact that you've been dating my mom for a month," she declared, still keeping her face a blank page.

For a moment, neither of Audrey's parents could speak, as they both tried to decide if she could do what she had said she was going to do. Peyton couldn't believe this was happening. What does one say when your teenaged daughter renounces you as her parent, just says she doesn't want you anymore, and that's that? "You can't do that. Lucas, tell her she can't do that," Peyton pleaded, hoping Lucas could find a solution.

Looking just as perplexed as Peyton, he tore his gaze from the teenager he had just found out belonged to him, except that she didn't want him, to look at said teenager's mother. "Did you bother putting me on the birth certificate?" he asked, grasping at the only solution he could think of. He didn't know what else could possibly work, unless they had proof, such as a birth certificate, that he was her father.

Shaking her head, Peyton bit her lip, trying to stop the tears that wanted to fall. She couldn't believe now that she had left him off the birth certificate, and she wished she hadn't been such a stupid teenager. He looked back at Audrey, meeting her blue eyes that were a mirror image of his. "Then I think she can do that," he finally said with a frown, not looking back at Peyton, but keeping his gaze locked with his daughters.

Nodding, the young blonde regarded both of them with her blank gaze. "I can, and I am. There really is no proof you're my dad, except her word," she gestured to her mother, "and she's lied before. As far as I'm concerned, that could be a lie, too. You can tell everyone what you want, but I'd prefer that no one else was told this lie. The other one has been believable thus far," she added the last part, while looking at Peyton coldly.

Seeming to realize she was allowing emotion to slip into the confrontation, Audrey reigned in her emotions again, schooling her expression and pulling every bit of emotion from it. "I'm going to stay with Logan until the court proceedings are over, and then I'm going to use the money I get from working to get my own apartment. I'll be finding a different job. Consider this my two weeks notice," she said, since she had meant to start working at Tric after school.

Still keeping the conversation on her terms, Audrey continued laying out her plan. "I'm taking most of my stuff now, everything I can fit in my car and Logan's SUV, and I'll get around to getting the rest of it when I can," she said, finally finished. She sent her mom a last look, in which she nearly broke as she saw the pain and pleading in Peyton's eyes. She managed to keep strong, though, telling herself it was for the best, as she left the living room to start getting her stuff.

Without a last glance at Lucas, she went past Logan, leading the way to her bedroom. "Logan," Peyton said before he could turn and follow Audrey. He finally brought his gaze off the floor, to meet Peyton's gaze. Peyton had always liked Logan. She knew about his feelings for her daughter, even if Audrey had always been blind to it. "Take care of her," she said, glad Audrey was staying with him.

Both of them heard Audrey call for him, but Peyton wouldn't let him go without hearing the verbal confirmation, even if she knew that he would take the best care of her. "Sure, Peyton, of course," he promised with a nod. Audrey called for him a second time, and this time Peyton let him go, not watching as he disappeared. She sank onto the couch, holding her head in her hands. Lucas sat next to her, neither moving as the teenagers moved Audrey's stuff out of the house.

When the front door closed, Peyton realized that Audrey was going to leave without saying anything else. She jumped to her feet and ran to the door, pulling it open as she reached it. She saw Audrey standing on the front porch and before her daughter could protest, she pulled her into a hug. "Be safe, baby girl. I love you always, never, ever forget that," she whispered, feeling the tears falling down her cheeks.

Nodding against her mom's shoulder, Audrey finally pulled away. She turned to walk away, but stopped on the steps. She turned and met her mother's gaze. "I love you," she said softly, but Peyton heard it. The words didn't stop the tears at all, but instead caused them to fall even harder. She watched Audrey get in her car and drive away, and then her daughter was gone.

Unable to even get back inside, Peyton collapsed on the porch as the sobs consumed her. She knew that Audrey wasn't going to stop until she had things the way she wanted. She never stopped when she was strongly convicted, and she had a case, as much as Peyton wished she didn't. She couldn't believe her baby was only 16 and moving out already. She wished she had never moved back to Tree Hill. She wished Lucas had never moved back.

Before she realized what was going on, she felt Lucas's arms around her, and despite wanting to hate him, and blame all of this on him, she let him comfort her because right now, he was the only one who could, and she knew it changed nothing. She had let him go, and unless he came back to her, that was how it was going to stay. She also knew they would follow Audrey's wishes. No one would know he was her father. They were both mourning for that right then, before they had to compose themselves and begin spinning the web of lies.


	7. Chapter 6

Audrey got out of her Comet and studied the campus, observing who was already at school, and who wasn't. She spotted her friends, and felt a reassurance that she had somehow forgotten since Kristine had stepped into Tric. She couldn't believe how much that night had changed things, but there was one thing that she hadn't allowed it to change. She spotted her boyfriend and walked over to him. "Hey, babe," she said, smiling as she reached up for a kiss.

The smile on her face was more for everyone else than for the fact that she was happy with the way things were. She wrapped her arms around Sean's waist anyway, though, smiling for all her friends, as she began to get into a conversation about what everyone had done with their last days of break. She saw Logan and her smile became real, but she knew he wasn't happy with the fact that she had taken Sean back. She just didn't know what else to do.

_FLASHBACK_

_After she had dropped her stuff off at Logan's, she had told him she had something to do, because she knew he would try to talk her out of it if she told him the truth, and she knew he was probably the only one who could, but she didn't want to be talked out of it. At least, she was pretty sure she didn't want to be talked out of it. She wasn't completely sure what she wanted anymore._

_The night before, and then today, had dealt her blow after blow, starting with the whole Sean and Kristine thing, and then ending with her moving out of her mom's house, and that was not counting everything in between. She knew that there was only one thing she could take control of right now, and she didn't want to relinquish the one chance of control she had. There was just too much up in the air, she couldn't handle everything being out of her control._

_Pulling up in front of the familiar house, she dialed a number she knew by heart, a number that just last night she had never wanted to call again. She didn't want to go inside and face his parents, so when he answered she told him to come outside, and then she hung up, before he could question her. She couldn't forget the look that had been on his face earlier, when she had driven away from him._

_When the car door opened she kept staring forward as he sat got in and closed the door. She stayed silent for a moment, and he didn't say anything, because he didn't know what she wanted from him. He was waiting to see what she was going to do. She drew in a deep breath, turning to slowly look at him. "Listen, last night was hard enough, but it doesn't matter what happened. I'm willing to give us another try, if you are," she finally said, looking at Sean._

_Unable to tell what he was thinking, she began to think about what she wished he would never figure out. She had unearthed feelings she had never given thought to, and while she wanted nothing more than to explore them, she was scared of them, and she knew that this was just her way of running from them, but she didn't know what else to do right now. She was confused, and she just wanted something normal, to remind her that things could be normal._

_While the silence lingered between them, Sean couldn't help but think of Kristine. She had told him that he should get back together with Audrey. This was what she wanted him to do. Was it what he wanted, though? He honestly wasn't sure, because that image of Kristine, with tears running down her cheeks, yet still looking beautiful, would not get out of his head. She was bound to be emotionally needy, though, and that wasn't the kind of relationship he wanted, right?_

_With Audrey, he knew exactly where he stood, and he knew he didn't treat her like he should, but it wasn't like she ever tried to change him. He had a feeling that if he actually wanted to start dating Kristine, a lot of things would change. He didn't want that, did he? He looked over at the blonde. She had put up with him for a long time. He had to admit, he did love her, even if he didn't show it right. This could work, right? "I really am sorry, Audrey. If you can forgive me, I want to try again," he said._

_Smiling, although, she had to admit, it felt almost forced, more like relief than joy flooding through her, she turned her gaze on him again, just as the tears welled up in her eyes again. Yeah, this wasn't Logan, but she wasn't sure she could talk to Logan right now, and this was Sean, who she'd been with for the past couple years of her life. She could talk to him. She began to pour out the whole sordid tale, or at least, most of it._

_END FLASHBACK_

Now she looked at Sean, smiling, as they began to walk toward campus. She saw Kristine and her eyes narrowed. It was true after all. Kristine was now a student at Tree Hill high school. She had been wondering if she would actually show her face, after what had gone down. Audrey had spent the rest of her weekend at Logan's house, so she wasn't sure what Kristine had actually done-was she living with her mom, or had she moved in with Nathan?-and she wondered what James thought of his new sister.

Spotting her cousin, though she hoped that he still didn't know that fact, she noted his glare toward the brunette, and she had to smile. At least she wasn't the only one who hated the newcomer who had thrown everyone's life upside down. She decided to go talk to him, just to be sure, and she squeezed Sean's hand, getting his attention. "I'll be right back," she pressed a kiss to his cheek before heading for James, letting go of Sean's hand as she separated from her group of friends.

Seeing her coming, James sighed, as if he'd known this was coming, and he was preparing himself for it. He started walking again towards the building, and she fell into step beside him. She didn't say anything for a moment, waiting until they passed out of anyone's earshot. "So, how does it feel to be a little brother?" she asked, deadpan, not sure how else to bring up the subject. She was just glad it wasn't her. She supposed with Brooke, it easily could have been.

Kicking a rock, he kept his gaze on the ground for a minute, shrugging. "Damn me if I don't know. I don't know whether I should hate her because my parents don't or because she could ruin my family, or if I should just be nice to her, or if I should actually treat her like a sister because, like it or not, that's what she is, and I don't even know her, so who am I to pass judgment when her life's been thrown into upheaval just as much as mine has, if not more," he blew out a sigh.

Still, despite the small part of her that wanted her to believe that made sense, most of her disagreed. "All I have to say, if she was my sister, I'd probably be over there kicking her ass right now. She thinks she can just walk in here like she owns the place just because she happens to be a Scott now. She can't. She's still a newbie, and I think she should have to prove herself to us just like anyone else would," she sent Kristine a glare, and then turned and met James's gaze.

Noting his look, she held her hands up in surrender. She knew from the two years she had been friends with him when James disapproved of something she said, even if he knew her well enough to know that she was stubborn. "Alright, alright, moot point, I guess. It doesn't matter anyway. I was just saying what I would do if she was my sister. I wasn't telling you what you should do," she glanced toward Kristine again, who was now standing with her group of friends. "I'll see you later," she said to James.

Without taking her eyes off the brunette who had what she now knew were the Scott blue eyes, Audrey watched as she talked to her friends, like she belonged there, and everyone else seemed to think she fit right it. That vexed Audrey more than anything. She had worked hard since her freshman year, making friends and working her way up to the top. She'd worked hard to be cheer captain this year, and she wasn't about to let this girl take it all from her now.

Knowing that she would have to have more tact than just going over there and kicking her ass, Audrey restrained herself, even if there was nothing more she would like to do. She would have to wait, she knew, and plan this perfectly, if it was going to work out. She'd let Kristine think she was getting in, for now, but she wouldn't allow it. She was going to come up with a plan and take her down. Kristine wouldn't take this from her like she'd taken everything else.

For now, though, in the pretense of playing nice, Audrey sauntered over to her friends, slipping her arm around Sean's waist possessively, ignoring Kristine as if she wasn't there, without making it obvious what she was doing. She started a story every time Kristine tried to say something, and then when the bell rang, she pulled Sean away, though Kristine tried to say bye to him. She pretended that she didn't hear Kristine say bye to her.

As they moved away from the rest of the group, Sean stopped Audrey with a look. She shrugged, putting an innocent look on her face. He realized he should be grateful that she had taken him back despite his jackass tendencies, especially considering what had happened between him and Kristine, but still, that didn't mean he was going to allow Audrey to be a bitch toward Kristine when Kristine didn't even deserve he. He didn't have time to form any sentences, though, before Audrey pecked him on the cheek and departed.

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The rest of the week didn't go any better for Kristine. She was ignored by Audrey a lot, which was beginning to get her ignored by the other girls in Audrey's group as well, and while that didn't bother Kristine that much, the fact that Sean didn't stick up for her did. She knew it was completely ridiculous, but she had thought he might at least stick up for her when his girlfriend was such a bitch. She had told him to get back together with Audrey, though, so she could only blame herself.

Sighing, she entered the house and was glad for the fact that no one was home. She was going to borrow one of James's basketballs and use the half-court in the back yard. She preferred cheerleading to basketball, but since she wasn't a cheerleader at this school, at least she could play some ball to relieve stress, and to try to get her mind off of things, like Sean. She wished she could stop thinking about him, because she knew that wasn't going to happen, ever, but his image wouldn't leave her mind.

A more productive thing to think about, she knew, would be homework, but who wanted to think about homework the first Friday of the school year? It didn't help that she was falling further and further behind by the day, and only the first week had passed. She guessed that being on independent study the past two years hadn't helped her, but she hadn't realized how far behind she would be when she tried to get back into the regular school schedule. She was completely lost in most of her classes, already.

That did not bode well, but she was pretty sure she could at least manage to keep a good enough GPA to graduate, even if it likely wouldn't be enough to allow her to try out for sports or anything this year. The cheer squad was already full, so there wasn't really another sport she would want to do. She could live with being just average enough to get by. She didn't care if she was the best in class or anything. She didn't think she owed anyone else good grades either, so she just didn't care.

So lost in the game, Kristine didn't even notice when James stepped out on the back porch. He stood leaning against the post as he watched her, and when she finally stopped for a drink and noticed him, he continued to stay silent, and she began to wonder what he was thinking, as she stared back at him, trying to connect her impression of him with the fact that he was her brother. He'd pretty much just ignored her for the past week, so she had no idea what he was thinking.

Realizing that the silent staring was getting awkward fast, James cleared his throat, and pushed off of the post. "You're pretty good at that. I guess you really are a Scott," he said, stepping down the steps. He took the ball from her hands, and made a shot, listening at the ball went in with a swish. "I bet you're not better than I am, though," he challenged, and she realized that this was his way of telling her he accepted who she was, and apologizing for the past week of indecision.

Smirking at him, she retrieved the ball, walking to the half court line and tossing it to him. "You're so on," she said as she bent her knees, waiting for him to get in position. "By ones to ten," she declared, and the game began. They played until dark, and neither of them noticed when their father stood at the back window, watching them for a while, or when Haley stepped out on the back porch, until she announced that it was time for dinner, and they needed to get inside and wash up.

As the two teenagers came inside, Haley returned to the kitchen, where Nathan was standing, leaning on the counter. She stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist as she looked up at him. "Well, I guess we have our answer, then. We said we'd wait until the kids decided whether or not they wanted to live together, and then we'd talk to Brooke about Kristine living with us on a more permanent basis. I think that they showed us tonight that they can get along like normal siblings," she said.

Taking a moment to think about it, Nathan pulled her even closer by the waist, and distracted her by kissing her. He ended up being the one who forgot what they were talking about, and when she pulled back and looked up at him with expectant brown eyes, he had to think to remember what she had asked him. "Yeah, I guess we should talk to Brooke tomorrow. We'll call her in the morning and set up a meeting. I think we should meet with her on our own to air things out before we bring Kristine into this," he finally said.

Thinking it over, she nodded her agreement, but before they could continue talking about it, the teenagers were in the kitchen, bringing dinner to the table, and setting it. Haley sent Nathan an impressed look. The past week dinner every night hadn't been a very loud affair. Mostly it had been quiet, eat and run, and neither of the teenagers had been much of a help, because they hadn't really talked to each other. It had been very silent. Haley and Nathan had a feeling tonight would be different.

After Grace was said, Kristine and James started talking about their basketball game, and Nathan joined in, talking about the moves he had seen each of them do, and what he thought they could work on, though he didn't focus on what they did wrong, like Dan had done with him, he talked up some of their best plays, too, and they both shared moves they thought the other one they had done well. Haley, content to just watch, because she knew next to nothing about basketball, smiled contentedly.

Even after the four of them finished eating, the conversation continued, unlike the other days of the week, when both teenagers split as soon as everyone was finished with their food. The talk moved from basketball to school, and this was a conversation Haley could get in on. "So, how was the first week of school for the two of you? I feel like I haven't gotten to talk to either of you all week. Kristine, are you liking Tree Hill High?" she asked.

Shrugging, Kristine looked over at her step mom. "Well, it's okay, I guess. It's just different, going to a public school again, after having been on independent study for so long. I don't want to have to spend my last two years of high school on independent study, though," she paused, knowing that Haley, despite the fact that she had been a rock star in high school, had been very intelligent. "It's kind of hard getting back into the academic part of school. I'm kind of behind right now," she admitted sheepishly.

Nodding slowly, Haley considered the options, but she wasn't sure if Kristine would want her opinion. She wasn't Kristine's mother. She wasn't sure how Kristine viewed her, as the wife of her father, or a potential mother figure. She didn't want to overstep any boundaries. "Well, maybe, if you think you'll have trouble catching up, you can go to a tutor. I know that most of the tutors at Tree Hill love what they do, and they'd probably be a big help," she supplied.

Considering it, Kristine shrugged again, and allowed James to talk about his first week back. She was really thinking about what Haley suggested, she just didn't know if she wanted a tutor or not. She would have to think about it. Maybe if she were able to cheerlead, she would definitely say yes, but since she couldn't, she didn't know if she wanted to bother with a tutor. She tuned into the rest of the conversation, but the thought stayed alive in the back of her mind.

Glad to see his children interacting, and especially glad to see that Haley and Kristine seemed to get along, Nathan was pleased with the evening. He knew that the timid happiness could be destroyed, if Brooke chose to fight it. He didn't know if she would give up her daughter without a fight. She had only reluctantly allowed Kristine to live there while they tried to decide what they all wanted to do. He wasn't sure at all she would make this easy for them.

Seeming to sense where Nathan's mind was, Haley reached over and grabbed his hand, while Kristine and James were debating one of her current teachers, whom James had had in a previous year. She met his gaze and sent him a smile as she squeezed his hand, letting him know that no matter what happened when they talked to Brooke, she didn't want to allow this to ruin her marriage. She could be angry that Nathan had probably cheated on her all those years ago, but she wouldn't be.

It did hurt to know that Nathan had another kid, but she knew that she had to stand by him in this. She knew what kind of person he used to be, but she also knew what kind of person he was now. He wasn't the same guy she had married when she was a junior in high school, and she had changed to. She couldn't hold old sins against him, even if he had never admitted to them. The past was the past. What mattered was now, and now she was going to stand by him.

After dinner, as Kristine was loading the dishwasher and James was taking out the trash, Nathan retreated to his office. Haley knew what he was doing, but knew that he should do it on his own. He picked up the phone and the piece of paper with the number he needed, dialing the number. He listened to three rings before there was a click and a voice said hello. He didn't bother with the greetings, jumping right into the reason for calling. "Brooke, we need to talk," he said.

**A/N: **_So, this chapter didn't have a lot going on, but it was necessary. The next chapter will involve the Naley/Brooke interaction and maybe might throw some Kristine into that mix, depending on how the meeting writes itself. I'm not sure how many other characters will be in the chapter, because this is kind of a big one, where you find out what Brooke's story is and everything. I promise that coming up soon there will be a Leyton/Audrey interaction and Peyton will tell her side of the story, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, to those two, at least. I hope you're excited about that, because I know I am. Let me know what you think of this chapter. I'll try to update sooner if you do. Thanks for the reviews and thanks to the people who read the last chapter. I love all my readers, and especially those of you who review._

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own anything._


	8. Chapter 7

Walking out of the court room and into the now brightly shining sun, Peyton had to blink and push her sunglasses onto her face, not just to block out the sun, which hadn't been shining as brightly hours ago when they had entered the courthouse, but also to hide the fact that she was just moments away from tears. She was going to hold herself together, just to prove to herself she could. She wanted to hurry away, before everyone else could file out and follow after her, asking questions that she just wouldn't be able to answer honestly, which was why she had practically run out of the courthouse as soon as the results were announced.

Getting into her car, she was surprised that the passenger side door opened just moments before she could drive away, and she glanced over at the figure that slid into the seat next to her. She almost wished she wasn't about to have this conversation, but she knew it was going to come at some point, so she might as well get it over now. She was relatively sure she could make it through this without crying. She sighed as she looked into the eyes of her once best friend, which were covered with sunglasses, much like her own. "Well, Brooke, it's been a while. What brings you back, or, more importantly, what brings you to my car?" she asked.

The two of them hadn't spoken in years. They had kept in contact a little bit after Brooke had left, but as they were both pregnant, and then both single mothers, they hadn't really had the time to keep in touch, especially since both of them were keeping their daughters a secret. Brooke hadn't stayed a single mom for long, though. She had started her company, with the help of the guy who became her first husband, and though they hadn't stayed together long, her company had prospered, lasting longer than any of her many husbands ever could. Brooke didn't love any of them; she couldn't, because she had left her heart in Tree Hill, with all the friends and the life she'd left behind.

Clearing her throat, Brooke looked down at her hands for a moment, before reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ears. She couldn't believe she had just come out and got in Peyton's car, but then again, she couldn't believe she hadn't talked to her best friend sooner. Well, she couldn't really call Peyton her best friend anymore, but Peyton was still the best friend she'd ever had. She looked up with that thought, intent on fixing everything. "Peyton, I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you back then, but I was scared. I didn't know what to do, but I knew I didn't want to ruin Nathan and Haley's relationship, not when they had just gotten back on track," she paused, not sure how else to go on.

As the silence dragged on for a long moment, Peyton realized that Brooke was waiting for her to say something, something to indicate that she was about to forgive Brooke and they could move on. Peyton wasn't so sure she was ready to do that though, not right now, without any sort of story at all. Brooke had been gone for years, and even when she had moved back to Tree Hill, she hadn't gotten in contact with anyone. "Brooke, I understand all that, but you've had three weeks to get in touch with me, since that night at Tric. I've been busy with this, trying to prepare my case so I didn't lose my daughter, but where the hell have you been? You could have at least tried, you know. You want me to forgive you, tell me the truth, the whole truth," she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sighing, Brooke ran a hand through her chestnut colored hair. She closed her eyes, and Peyton knew she was trying to hold back tears, but Peyton refused to soften, yet. Ever since they were kids, Peyton would always accept Brooke's apologies, no questions asked, but this time was not going to be the same thing. She deserved some kind of explanation this time, and she was going to get it. "Peyton, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have left back then, but I was scared. I didn't want everyone to know I got pregnant, and I thought I was doing what was best for Naley. I know that doesn't excuse me from these past few weeks, heck, these past two years, but I was still scared, and I guess I pulled a you and just hid from my problems," she tried to joke.

Sending her a long hard look, Peyton silently let Brooke know she wasn't amused. "Not funny?" she asked, and Peyton just shook her head. "Yeah, I guess that was too soon. Anyway, I don't have a lot of excuses for back then. Nathan got drunk the night of the parties. Haley wasn't around that night, I can't remember why, and I was drunk," she paused, getting a cocked eyebrow from Peyton, "and a bitch. I seduced him, and it wasn't his fault, and I never told him about it, because they were so in love. They got married, for goodness sake. I couldn't tell him, P. So I left, and it might have been the wrong move, but I think I've done right by Kristine, and that's what matters," she paused, and Peyton could hear the tears in her voice.

Still not saying anything, Peyton waited for an explanation for more recent events. Brooke still knew Peyton well enough to know what she was waiting for, so she reached up and wiped the tears from her eyes as she looked at the blonde. "My daughter hates me, Peyton. She told me so a couple of weeks ago when she walked in on my conversation with Nathan and Haley. I said I wanted to be able to spend some time with her, and she wasn't going to move out of my house, even if she wanted to spend some time at their house, and she came in and told me she hates me. I never wanted my daughter to hate me," she broke off into huge sobs, her shoulders heaving as she remembered what had happened.

_FLASHBACK_

_Brooke, Haley and Nathan were sitting in a booth at the Cafe. Haley and Nathan were sitting on one side, and Brooke on the other. They all had cups of coffee in front of them, but they had all declined getting a meal. They were sitting in silence as one of them tried to figure out how to start the conversation. Brooke was the one who finally ended the silence. "Haley, I am so sorry. I know you probably don't want to hear it from me right now, but I really am. What happened back then, it wasn't Nathan's fault at all, and I hope you guys don't let this ruin your relationship, because Ill feel horrible if it does. You two are the most perfect couple, and I'll never forgive myself if I ruined that," she said, pausing to swallow loudly, and take a sip of coffee._

_This made Haley angry, and it wasn't easy to upset Haley, but for some reason, the longer Brooke went on, the angrier Haley got. "Well, Brooke, I really don't see how that is any of your business. In fact, I don't see how any part of my life is any part of your business. You lost that right when you left without a word, and in fact, you more than lost that right as soon as you came back and told my husband you had been keeping a child from him for over 16 years. So don't pretend now that you care about our relationship or anything about me at all. The only business we have together now is in relation to the daughter you and my husband share," she cut herself off, and looked down at her hand, which Nathan had taken. The couple shared a look, and she calmed herself down, but didn't say anything to take back her words._

_Looking at the woman Brooke had once thought could be a really good friend, Brooke held back her tears and nodded. She wished that she could defend herself against Haley, but really, there was no defense for that. Everything Haley had said was true, and she couldn't change the past, even if she wished she could, and that was what hurt Brooke most of all. "You're right," she finally said, surprising the couple across from her. "I guess we should just get right down to business, then. I want my daughter to live with me again. I don't mind if you see her, but she's my daughter. This has gone on longer than I should have allowed. She needs to move back into her home," Brooke said firmly, still trying to recover from the mental wounds that Haley had just left._

_Not one of the adults had noticed that the door to the Café had opened, or that they now had an audience. Kristine had known where Haley and Nathan were going, and she had followed, coming in not long after them. She had heard what her mom had just said, and she didn't like it one bit. "No," she said, catching the attention of the three sitting down. She was looking directly at Brooke. "No, Brooke, I don't think so. You can't just do that to me. You've been lying to me my whole life, and then you pull this crap and you think you can call yourself my mother. I don't think so! I'm not moving back in with you. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, you're not even my mother anymore. I hate you!" she turned and left the Café before anyone could catch her._

_Looking across the table at her once friends, Brooke knew she wouldn't get any sympathy from them. She looked after her daughter through the glass windows of the Café, watching as Kristine ran down the street, before she looked back at the couple. "Um, she's right. It's probably better if she lives with you. I'll, um," she paused, not sure what to say. She just knew she needed to get out of there before she started crying. She didn't want the pity from either of them, and she knew she wouldn't get comfort. "We'll talk about this another time," she stood and grabbed her purse, hurrying out of the Café and to her car, getting in and driving to her house. She sat in the driveway for hours, just crying and wishing she could go back to a time when she had friends, and her daughter didn't hate her._

_END FLASHBACK_

Now, Audrey had never told Peyton she hated her, but at least Peyton could sympathize with her once best friend. She knew what it was like to have her daughter not want to live with her anymore. She knew how hard it was to just stand by as she felt her daughter slipping away. It was hard to be a mother and have that happen. She didn't know what Brooke's relationship with her daughter had been like before, but she did know that no matter what the relationship was like, Brooke had to be hurting right now. That more than anything made her thaw out. She knew how everyone else reacted to Brooke's arrival, and her news, and she knew that right now she was the only one who didn't hate her, or at least strongly dislike her. She also kind of needed a friend, right now.

There was one question, though, that she needed Brooke to answer before she could just forgive her and welcome her back into her life with open arms. She waited until Brooke looked at her, and then she asked why Brooke hadn't been around in the past three weeks since she'd originally dropped the bomb, since Peyton's life had fallen apart, though she didn't add that. Brooke looked like she wanted to get out of the car, her hand gripped the handle in fact, ready to pull and push open the door. She didn't, though, and Peyton had to give her credit for that. "Peyton, I've been scared, because everyone else hates me, with good reason. I know you have good reason to hate me, too, but you'd hurt the worst, because you used to be my best friend, and we were supposed to be best friends no matter what," she said, her voice breaking.

Surprising the brunette, Peyton leaned over and gave her a hug, holding her tightly and letting her once best friend cry on her shoulder. She started crying too, but didn't remove her glasses. "At least your daughter didn't get legally emancipated from you. She can say she hates you all she wants, but at least she hasn't divorced you as her mother. I'm sure this'll blow over between the two of you eventually, Brooke. She just needs time away from you, to figure out where her heads at and besides, she's a teenager. They rebel. At least she's not like you were in high school," she teased, then, when Brooke didn't stop crying, she continued murmuring sympathetic phrases, until Brooke did stop crying.

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Walking slowly out of the courthouse, Audrey was hoping her mom would be gone by the time she got out of there. She knew that with the way Peyton had rushed out of there, she didn't want to see anyone, or, more importantly, she didn't want anyone to see her. She couldn't believe this had actually happened. Yeah, she had been trying for it, but now that it was real, she needed some time to process it. She grabbed her boyfriends hand as he reached her. "Hey, I think I'm just going to go back to Logan's house for a little while. I know we were supposed to celebrate, but I've got a headache. I'll call you later, okay?" she said, stopping and allowing the crowd to move around them.

Meeting her gaze, he leaned down to press a kiss to her lips. He didn't feel like starting a fight over how much time she spent at Logan's. She was living there, after all, and they hadn't really fought a lot since getting back together. He wasn't quite as much of a jackass as he used to be, and her heart wasn't really in it as it had once been. So he just gave her a kiss, and let go of her hand as she ran off to get a ride with Logan. She had ridden to the courthouse with him earlier, but she had been planning to ride home with Sean. She needed to catch up to him and tell him the change of plans.

Seeing his familiar head of dark hair just exiting the building, she pushed through the crowd, not even noticing Kristine until she ran into her. "Hey, watch it!" she said, and was unable to say anything else as she wondered why the girl was here. She knew Nathan and Haley were there to support her mom. She also knew that James had probably been around somewhere, but she hadn't seen him. She hadn't seen Kristine either, until now. "What the hell are you even doing here? I don't recall asking you to show up, and it's not like you're friends with my mother, unless you really are trying to steal everyone away from me. I hear she has an open room," she added rudely.

Staring at her for a moment with a shocked expression, Kristine's face quickly hardened. She had lived in New York; she wasn't unused to mean girls. She had been part of that group before she had moved away, even it she hadn't been quite as mean as any of her other friends. She just didn't know what she had done to get on Audrey's bad side. Well, she did know, but she knew Audrey didn't, and she should have no reason to hate her so much. "Listen, I was here because Sean asked me to be, okay. He's my friend, and just because you don't like me, doesn't mean he doesn't," she shot back, looking to be just as rude as Audrey. She was tired of Audrey being such a bitch to her.

Looking like she'd been slapped, Audrey quickly closed her mouth. She glanced back over her shoulder, Sean was still a ways down the hallway, and there were quite a few people between them, but he was tall enough to see over most of the people. She saw the exact moment he spotted Kristine, because she could see it in his face, the way it lit up, and she knew that he hadn't seen her. She looked back at Kristine and saw that she had seen him too, and her face lit up as well, in a completely obvious way, as she lifted her hand to wave. What was worse, Audrey knew this wasn't just a show to make Audrey jealous, Kristine was genuinely happy to see Sean.

This, combined with everything else going on with her today, made her snap. She reached out and slapped the brunette, getting her attention. She was tired of Kristine, tired of all her friends thinking she was the best thing just because she was new; tired of her boyfriend thinking it was okay to be friends with her; just plain sick and tired. She narrowed her eyes at the teenager as Kristine just stood there, holding on to her cheek, but not making any move to hit her back. "Listen to me, and listen good, I don't care who you were in New York, or who you think you are now. You stay away from my boyfriend. Don't go crying to him, either. Just stay away. I'm not going to lose him because of a bitch like you," she spat out, then pushed past her, trying to leave the courthouse to reach Logan.

Finding him outside, she called his name as she ran to get to him before he got in his car. She walked past the car her mom drove now and noticed Peyton hugging a brunette that she knew to be Brooke Davis, not because she'd actually seen her in person, but because she'd seen pictures in magazines and things. She didn't know why her mother and Brooke Davis were getting all buddy-buddy again, but she knew she was glad that Brooke was taking Peyton's attention, because it allowed her to slip past the car and get into Logan's without being noticed. She forced a smile in his direction, noticing it wasn't as forced as it should have been as soon as she saw his inquisitive gaze. "Can you just take me to your house? I'll explain in a bit," she said, trying not to break down here, where everyone could see her.

When they got to his house, she had to tell him what had happened. "I slapped Kristine today," she finally blurted out, as they stretched out on the couch in his living room to watch a movie. She was holding a carton of ice cream and a spoon and there was a spoon in his hand, but he likely wouldn't have any of the ice cream. She usually got pretty defensive about it. She glanced over at him from underneath her lashes to gauge his reaction. He was still looking pretty shocked. "It was because she was there for Sean. Sean asked her there. I probably shouldn't have done it, but honestly, I've wanted to do it for a long time, and I guess everything had piled on me today, and I couldn't stop myself anymore," she confessed, taking a bite of the ice cream, continuing to avoid his gaze.

Sensing how close she was to a break down, he set down his spoon, took the ice cream and her spoon and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and rubbing her back as she began to cry. "I should tell you how stupid that was, but considering what happened today, I won't. I know you thought you wanted to be emancipated from your mom, Rae-Rae, but are you really sure that it's what you want, now that it's happened? Are you sure you don't want to get to know your dad? Why do you want to live on your own?" he had asked her all these questions before, but she had never given him a straight answer before, and he had a feeling it was because she didn't know herself. He kissed the top of her head and let the questions slide for now as she just kept crying. He comforted her as he rubbed her back.

A little while later, when the ice cream was nothing but liquid, her phone started ringing. She had long ago stopped crying and fallen asleep in Logan's arms. He had fallen asleep, too, because they had both been up most of the previous night. She couldn't sleep, so she had gone into his room, and they had just talked. He had stayed up with her because she couldn't sleep. The phone didn't wake either of them, and neither did the door, but Sean did, when he let out a loud curse upon entering the living room to find her wrapped in his arms. She shot up, looking at him with sleep-filled eyes, but he was gone before she could completely wake up, and she wasn't awake enough to try to follow him.

As she heard Sean's car peal out, and Logan began rubbing his own eyes, trying to wake himself up, her phone started ringing again. She picked it up off the coffee table, looking at the display curiously. Her cheerleading coach was calling her. She was the captain of the team, but she didn't know why her coach should be calling her. "Hello," she said slowly, and a few seconds later Logan watched her expression change. "Yeah, thanks for telling me," her expression said she wasn't happy at all. "I'll see you at practice Monday," she hung up the phone, looking at Logan. "One of the girls on the squad broke her leg. She'll be out all season," she sighed and fell back onto the couch, resting her head on his shoulder.

**A/N: **_Yeah, it's been a while since updates, and I'm sorry. I just don't have the computer access most of the time, and I'm moving right now, and it's just been hectic. I'll try to start updating again on a regular basis before the end of the summer, but I'm not making any promises. So, what did you think? I actually kind of liked this chapter, and I know Audrey is being kind of a bitch to Kristine, and most of the time it seems unnecessary, but I have a plan. I know where I'm going with this. If you remember, Nathan was a real jackass back in season one. She will get better. Anyway, I hope you like the chapter, and I hope you review, even if you don't like it. Just please, a little feedback to let me know you're still reading, if you're still reading._

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own anything._


	9. Chapter 8

Sighing, Audrey finished changing into her uniform with the rest of the squad and they went out to meet their coach. She had a quick word with the coach before sitting at the table, which already had her clipboard and CD player on it. A couple of the girls sat with her at the table, and the rest started stretching on the floor. She was already stretched, and these were just try outs, so she wouldn't be doing much anyway. She looked out at all the prospective cheerleaders, noticing one person who hadn't been at the try-outs this summer.

Looking at the coach, she really wished they could just do what she had wanted in the first place. She was going to just let the person who had been closest to making the team last time on the team and be done with it, but the coach had insisted on everyone trying out again. She hoped that Kristine sucked at cheerleading, but since she had been on the squad in New York before coming here, she wasn't counting on that. She was just going to have to hope that Kristine wasn't the best. She would be pissed if Kristine made it onto her squad.

When the try-outs ended, and everyone else agreed that Kristine should be the new addition to the squad, Audrey almost quit right there, but she held onto her self-control, forced her best cheerleader smile, and agreed, to keep the peace. She didn't see any other way she could control this without appearing to be a spoiled brat. She would just have to find a way to make this work out in her favor, and get Kristine off her squad as soon as possible.

After she had gotten dressed, she walked out of the locker room, passing the coach's office, where she heard Kristine's voice. She stopped, since the door was cracked, and couldn't help but eavesdrop. She listened for a few minutes, and then laughed. She didn't have to do anything. Kristine would probably get herself kicked off the squad all on her own. She barely had the grades to get on the squad in the first place. One slip up with her grades and she would be kicked off. Audrey could think of something to make sure Kristine did slip up. She was going to win this round.

Glancing at her watch, she realized she had to get to her new after-school job. She had taken a job at the library in town, because she had always loved books, and she figured if she couldn't have her first choice of job anymore-which was the job she had at Tric-she could work her second choice of job. She was headed for the parking lot, and her Comet, when she saw her boyfriend standing at a locker that didn't belong to him. She ducked around a corner, wondering just who he was waiting for.

The blonde didn't have to wait long before Kristine walked down the hallway, right to the locker Sean was standing at. She looked surprised, albeit pleased, to see him. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Audrey somewhere? She doesn't like us hanging out together, you know. We should stop hanging out," she said resolutely, as she twirled the lock on her locker.

Shrugging a shoulder, Sean grinned at her. "I heard you made the squad. I knew you could do it, Kris," he congratulated her, pulling her into a hug which she reluctantly accepted, after looking around to make sure no one was around. "Would you stop acting like we're sneaking around behind Audrey's back. We're not doing anything wrong, Kristine. I'm allowed to be friends with whoever I want. She just doesn't like you because she's mad at her mom and the way things happened. She'll get over it," he said confidently.

Sighing, she couldn't help but smile. "Well thanks, but I'm going to be screwed if I don't get my grades up. I'll be kicked off the squad and Audrey will have exactly what she wants," she ran a hand through her raven hair and grabbed her books so she could close her locker and begin walking down the hallway. "I think I'm going to have to take Haley's advice and get a tutor, unfortunately. I mean, I have nothing against tutors, but it's going to take a lot of time, I'm sure, and I don't want to be stuck with someone I can't stand, or someone who can't stand me," she said as he walked with her.

Sean stayed silent for a minute, before he thought of the perfect solution, and he stopped again, pulling her to a stop next to him. "Why don't I help you out. I mean, I'm somewhat good with the books and stuff, and you wouldn't have to be stuck with someone who can't stand you," he paused and she tilted her head as she studied him, trying to decide if this was a good idea. "Come on, Kris, it'll be fun, and you'll be able to stay on the squad. Nothing could go wrong," he coerced.

Taking another moment to consider, she just couldn't say no to him. She found herself nodding and the two of them continued down the hallway, towards the parking lot. "I'll give you a ride home, too, how about that," he offered and then they were out of Audrey's earshot as they grew further away. Audrey waited another couple moments before she hauled off and punched the locker. She stalked down the hallway to her car when she was sure he had driven away, but she wasn't happy. Not at all.

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Walking out of her office, Peyton saw Haley and Kristine in the bar area. Haley spotted the blonde and the two brunettes stopped walking as Peyton drew closer. "Peyton, just the woman I was looking for," Haley spoke up, gesturing for the young woman to wait while she pulled Peyton to the side. "I know you have a spot on your younger staff open because Audrey quit. I think Kristine needs to start working, if she's going to live with us, because we've required James to work since he was sixteen. I just think its fair," she said, and she didn't need to continue for Peyton to know where this was going.

Of course, the position was open, but Peyton hadn't really been planning on filling it. Part of her hoped that Audrey would still come back. She knew it wasn't likely, though, and if she said that to Haley she would get nothing but pity. So she forced a smile and nodded. "Alright, Haley, I think I can do that," she stopped and gestured for the young woman to come over. "So, Kristine, you want a job?" she asked, and the brunette kind of shrugged and nodded. "I'll have to go make a schedule for you, and I'll give it to Haley. You'll start tomorrow," she said, before heading off to make the schedule.

Following after her friend, Haley entered Peyton's office, closing the door behind her. She sat down in front of the desk as Peyton took her seat at her computer. She looked over at the brunette as if wondering why she was there. Haley knew she was going to have to be the one who brought it up. "So, what happened between you and Lucas? Anytime someone's brought him up in the past few weeks, you just become surly and change the subject. When did it end, and why?" she asked, because she knew that her problems with her daughter weren't the only things bothering her.

Sighing, Peyton closed her eyes momentarily, but then she opened them again and opened the program so she could make up Kristine's schedule. She stared at the computer screen while she tried to figure out how she was going to answer. "Well, it ended that night that Brooke came to Tric. I don't know, Haley, we just didn't work out. I wish we had, I really do, but we didn't," she said, trying to look unaffected. She wished she had answers that she could give her best friend, but she really didn't. Audrey had asked her not to tell anyone that Lucas was her father, so she wouldn't. "Why don't you ask him?" she tossed, finally looking at the other woman.

After staring at the blonde for a few moments, Haley let out a sigh of her own as Peyton turned back to her computer screen. "I've tried. I haven't gotten anymore answers out of him than I got out of you. I just don't get it, though. You guys were perfect, not just in general, but that day in particular. You weren't fighting that day at all. You had just been sticking your tongues down each other's throats and acting like teenagers for goodness sake. I just don't get what happened to change it all so quickly," she started at Peyton, who obviously kept her green eyes averted, but she got no more answer from the blonde.

Realizing that Peyton had said all she was going to say on the subject, Haley decided to let it go and change the subject to another topic. She was relatively sure that this subject wouldn't be any easier on the blonde, but she might be able to get a little bit more out of her. "How are you doing without Audrey around?" she asked, and noticed the blonde's wince. "Come on, Peyton, I know it's hard, but you can talk to me, you know. I wasn't sure you would give up Audrey's spot to Kristine, to be honest," she added.

This time Peyton had to reach up to wipe away the tears that wanted to fall. She had been trying to go on about her life, like her daughter hadn't moved out, but really, the house was so different, so lonely, without her teenaged daughter in it. She had been spending all her time at Tric mostly, doing way more than necessary just so she didn't have to spend time in her empty house. "It's hard, Hales. I don't like living in an empty house. I'm not used to the silence in this house. My little girl left, Hales, two years earlier than she was supposed to," she stopped herself, before she started crying.

Standing up and walking around the desk, Haley pulled Peyton into a hug, letting her regain control of her tears. She pulled back and leaned against the desk while Peyton went back to writing up the schedule for Kristine. She printed it up a few minutes later and turned to Haley, her tears completely under control. "What about you, Hales? What is it like, having a teenaged girl in addition to your teenaged boy and two younger children? It's gotta suck, knowing Nathan has a child that's not yours. How are you doing with it all?" she asked, turning her attention to the other woman.

Looking like she now regretted bringing up any uncomfortable topics, Haley took the paper and moved around the desk, sitting back in her original chair. "Of course it sucks, but Kristine really is a good girl, and this was Brooke's fault, not hers, or Nathan's. James and Kristine get along alright now, and Kristine really does a good job with her new little siblings. I thought it would take longer to get into any kind of schedule, but really, it's not as hard as I thought," she answered.

Looking a little bit uncomfortable again, Peyton wanted to bring up something, but she wasn't sure it would be well-received. She opened her mouth anyway, because Haley was her friend, and they had always been able to say anything to each other. "Haley, this is not easy on Brooke, you know. She lost her daughter, kind of like I did. She should have come clean, yes, but she was doing what she thought she had to do. She wanted what was best for her child, Haley, like you, like me, like any good parent," she bit on her lip as she could she the comments Haley wanted to make practically written on her forehead.

Opening her mouth, Haley thought a minute, before deciding to close it and think some more. She nodded, and blew out another sigh. "I guess you're right, Peyton, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to forgive her like she did nothing. I don't blame you, if you let her back into your life. I know she was your best friend, and all, but really, I don't want anything to do with her for a while, if ever. The only time I want to talk to her is if it's something to do with Nathan's daughter, and most of the time I'm going to leave that to Nathan," she said honestly.

Before long, Haley had to get going, and she invited Peyton over for dinner. The blonde thanked her friend, but had to decline. She wanted to stay and listen to some demos, because they had been piling up lately, and she wanted to know if there was any talent worth signing around town. Haley didn't take no for an answer, though, and eventually coerced Peyton into going with her. She closed up her office and followed Haley to her house. She almost turned around when she saw his car.

Getting out of her own car, Peyton walked up to Haley, who held up her hands in surrender. "I had absolutely no idea he would be here. Nathan must have invited him. I didn't know, Peyton, but really, you guys were friends. There shouldn't be any problems, right? Come on, Peyton, please don't leave," she pleaded, and Peyton stared at that car for a long moment before she finally nodded, and the two older women followed the younger into the house, because Kristine had gone inside as soon as she had got out of the car.

When Peyton followed Haley into the house, Lucas sent an accusing look at Nathan, who just held up his hands. He glanced at the blonde, who was standing in the doorway, as if she didn't belong, and then back at his brother. "Can I talk to you, Nate?" he asked, and then stalked out of the room. Nathan sent an apologetic look to Peyton before following his brother. "I can't believe you did this to me. I told you, we just didn't work out. You and Haley can't just force us together and expect us to forget the reason we can't be together," he said, probably louder than he should have.

Glancing over his shoulder, and hoping the women in the living room didn't hear his idiot brother, Nathan gestured for Lucas to lower his voice. "You know what, Lucas. I don't know what reason you have for being so mad at Peyton, but I didn't plan this. Haley probably invited her over because she's been doing nothing but working since her daughter moved out. I'm not going to tell her she has to leave, and you're not leaving either. She's been though enough without having to worry about you, too," Nathan paused for a minute.

Lucas opened his mouth to speak, but since he didn't look like he was going to do anything but argue with what Nathan had just said, Nathan went on. "No, Lucas, she just lost her daughter, okay. You don't know what it feels like, because you don't have kids, but surely you can attempt to understand. Whatever your problem is, suck it up, and act like a grown man. Stay and have dinner with your family, and don't act like a jackass to your ex," he said before turning and walking back into the living room.

In the living room, both Haley and Peyton had heard the exchange, but when Nathan walked in, they pretended they hadn't. Nathan walked up to the blonde and pulled her into a hug. "Hey, Sawyer, how are you doing?" he asked. Peyton sent him a grateful look and he just waved it away. "You're my best friend, Sawyer. He's just my idiot brother who makes mistakes. He can deal with it," he lowered his voice so Lucas wouldn't be able to hear him.

Wishing that what Nathan had said was true, Peyton was ready for a subject change, so she was glad when Lucas re-entered the room. Lucas wasn't the one who had made the mistake, and she wished she could be honest with her friends, but her daughter had asked her not to be. She knew that Lucas wasn't the bad guy, and he could tell the truth and change their positions, but he didn't. He chose to be the one that their friends were mad at, and she was really grateful that he did that. It made her love him all the more.

A little while later they all sat down for dinner, and for the most part, Lucas ignored Peyton. Peyton tried to act like nothing was wrong, and she talked to Kristine, telling her what she would need to do at Tric, and asking her about her classes, her mom, her life. She was just trying to keep conversation up, so she wouldn't pay attention to the fact that Lucas hadn't looked at her once. She wanted to say something, but there was nothing she could say, not without alerting Nathan and Haley that something was up. So she didn't say anything to him, instead getting to know Kristine.

When dinner was over, Kristine said she was going to the Rivercourt. James said he would give her a ride, since he was about to head to the movies anyway, and she went to her room to get some stuff before the two teenagers left. It was time for the little ones to be getting their baths, so the parents disappeared, not giving either blonde time to say they were going to leave. Peyton sat at the table, knowing that while Haley and Nathan hadn't planned inviting them over to dinner, they still were going to play the blondes the best they could.

Without looking directly at him, Peyton studied Lucas in her peripheral vision. He was staring at the doorway where his brother and best friend had just disappeared, and he did not look happy. Peyton wanted to say something, but she had no idea what to say. She finally decided that nothing could be worse than the silence. "Lucas, I know you're mad at me right now, and you probably hate me, but thank you, for not telling them the truth. I'm sure it's hard for you," she said, finally looking at him.

For a moment, Lucas was unable to say anything. He didn't want to start yelling and alert Haley and Nathan. He had to control his tone of voice. "Peyton, it's not about hating you, or being mad at you. I could never hate you, to be honest. I'm disappointed. I'm a little mad right now, yes, but I'll get over that. You don't have to thank me though, because I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this because my daughter asked me to, and that's the only reason I'm doing this. I'm not ready to pretend this whole thing didn't happen at all, though, so can we just not pretend, right now," he said shortly.

Underneath the anger, Peyton thought she could see the hurt she had caused him by keeping his daughter from him for so long. She didn't mention that, though, because she wasn't entirely sure that it was hurt in his blue eyes, and she didn't want to upset him even more by mentioning it. She wanted to say something, but she knew it wouldn't be well received. She decided to say it anyway. "You still have a chance with her, Lucas. She didn't divorce you as her parent. You can still get to know her, be a part of her life," she cut herself off, because she wished she still had the chance that she did with her daughter.

Staring at her, Lucas could see just how much she was hurting because their daughter had emancipated herself. He wished he didn't care, but he'd never been able to not care about Peyton. He stood and walked over her, pulling her to her feet and into a hug. "It'll be alright, Peyt. She'll get over this. You're her mother and you've always done what was best for her. She'll realize that soon enough. She does love you. She's just rebelling. It'll be alright," he said as he hugged her, rubbing her back. They both knew that this didn't change things between them, but they also knew the feelings between them hadn't changed. It would just take time for each of them to get over things.

**A/N: **_It's been a while, I know, but I'm here now, if anyone still wants to read. I'm hoping I'll be able to continue writing again, and that my writers block is gone. I'm not making any promises, but hopefully soon a couple of the fics I'm working on will be done, and it'll be easier to manage updating the ones that are left. What did you think of this chapter? Is anyone still reading? Let me know if you are, and what you think. Thanks for the reviews I have received. I appreciate them all._

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own anything._


	10. Chapter 9

Once at the Rivercourt, Kristine met up with Sean, so he would start tutoring her. She only hoped that she would have the time to continue with the tutoring sessions, work at Tric and go to cheerleading practice. She thought about last school year, when she had been doing nothing at all, and she knew that she'd rather have the full schedule, especially since she got to spend time with Sean, than have it be the way it had been for the past two years. She knew now she wouldn't be going back to New York, so she was going to have to make the best out of what life had given her.

The two of them hadn't been hanging out that long before Audrey called Sean, and he told her that he was busy and that caused a fight between the two of them. He went to his car, and came back with a basketball, immediately starting to shoot baskets. Kristine hung back for a minute, but then she stepped forward, grabbing the ball and catching his attention. "Hey, what's wrong? Do you need to go? I mean, I understand, you know, she is your girlfriend, and we've covered enough for today," she said.

Shaking his head, he held his hands out for the ball, and she tossed it to him. He moved further away, and started working on a shot he had been screwing up a lot lately. She stayed under the hoop, catching it as he kept missing, and tossing it back to him every time. "No, I don't have to go. She is my girlfriend, but lately she's been different. I know she doesn't like you all that much, but she doesn't have to be a total bitch to you all the time. It's just made me realize, that maybe we're just not meant to be," he said, shrugging as he continued shooting and she continued passing it back.

After a while, she couldn't take it anymore. She could see what he was doing it wrong, and the longer this went on, the more she just wanted to help him. She grabbed the ball as it missed yet again, and she walked over to him. "Here, you've got your stance wrong. If you move like this, instead of like that, you'll get it in every time," she corrected his movements, and this time when he threw the ball, it went into the hoop. He looked at her and smiled and she smiled back. "Good job," she said.

They continued like that, with him shooting, and her correcting when he started getting it wrong again. He was surprised that she could help him with basketball, and after a while, he didn't shoot when she tossed him the ball. "I didn't know you could play basketball, Kris. I guess you're just full of surprises, aren't you," he smirked at her, and she couldn't help but smile back. "Maybe there will be time for me to figure out all your dirty little secrets," he stepped closer to her.

Freezing up, she knew she had already told him more than any one of her friends in New York had known about her, but she wasn't sure she could tell him all her secrets. She didn't know if he was just coming on to her because he had gotten into a fight with Audrey, of it he genuinely liked her. She knew that she did like him, but she wasn't sure if it would work. "I don't know, Sean. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens," she walked back to the bench where their stuff was, sitting down.

Following her over there, he sat next to her, knowing he had hit a nerve, and set the basketball down on the ground next to his feet. She was staring at the ground, and he put his arm around her, silently letting her know that she could tell him anything. "I haven't always been this girl, Sean. My mom didn't just move us to Tree Hill because she got tired of living in New York. That was part of it, but mostly, she wanted to get me away from that life. She didn't like who I was becoming, and looking back, I don't like who I was either," she paused and looked up, trying to stop the flood of memories, but partially just letting this come.

Looking at him, she smiled a half smile. "I was most definitely a party girl. The reason my mom didn't immediately enroll me in school was because I needed to be detoxed. I had to go throw rehab, and I went through withdrawals. For a long time, I just needed to be alone, because I didn't want to be fixed. I didn't think there was anything wrong with me. I was deeply immersed in the New York life, partying, and doing drugs. I didn't drink, because I saw what it had done to my mom, but there wasn't much else I didn't try. I was a wreck when I moved here, and I wasn't so much of a wreck last year, but I was scared to start going to school here, because I was scared of relapsing," she cut herself off, wiping at tears.

Rubbing her back, he pulled her closer, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. He knew she needed to go on, so he just waited. "Part of me still hears the call. I still want to go back to New York, and back to the life that I could so easily have had. I know that's not the right thing, though. That's part of the reason why I want to stay away from my mom. It was largely her influence, and the way she lived that made me want to be that way. That's why I have to stay away from her. My dad, Haley, James, they all keep me grounded, keep my mind firmly set on the life I want to live, the person I want to be. My mom, she's just not a good influence on me," she finished.

Still rubbing her back, he let her cry on his shoulder. "It's alright, Kristine. You managed to get out of that lifestyle, and you are a good person. If you ever feel the need to go back to that, and you don't think you can control the urge, I want you to call me. I'll help you get through it. I'll help you take your mind off it, and I can talk you through it. You are a good person, and you've chosen the right path. I don't recommend completely cutting your mom out, because I think you'll regret that later, but I will support you, whatever you do," he said, lifting her chin so he could look into her eyes as he said that.

They heard a car drive by, but by the time they looked, the car was too far away to tell who was in it, or even what kind of car it was. It had gotten dark in the time they were at the Rivercourt, between the studying and the basketball. She looked at her phone and realized it had gotten late. "I've got to get home. Thanks for talking to me, Sean, and please, don't say anything to anyone," she said as she got up, grabbing her stuff as she got ready to call James for a ride.

Forgetting the basketball, he started walking toward his car, and then realized that she was going to call her brother. "I won't say anything to anyone, of course. Do you want a ride? I can take you home, no problem at all," he said, and she hesitated for a moment, shaking her head. She was feeling skittish because someone had just seen her with Sean, and she knew that for the brief moment that they saw, it didn't look like anything good. She only hoped it didn't get back to the wrong ears.

After he left, she realized that he had left his basketball there and she began shooting hoops, deciding she could call James in a little bit. She needed time to get her mind off the past, and think about the present. Her current feelings for Sean were really starting to confuse her, and she knew that Audrey was being way more of a bitch than she had any right to be. She had been just sitting back and taking it, so far, but she was tired of getting pushed around. She was not going to take anymore crap from the blonde.

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Brooke was at home when she got a phone call. She talked for a few minutes, and then hung up. She couldn't believe this was happening. She thought about him every day, but she had thought it would be years before she saw him again. She had had a plan. She would wait until he turned 18 and then get in contact with him, and see if he wanted anything to do with her. She wished she could tell her daughter, talk to her about this, but she knew that Kristine wanted nothing to do with her.

There was someone she could talk to, though. She picked up her phone again, making another call, and a few minutes later, she once again hung up, this time feeling better. She made a pot of coffee as she waited, and when there was a knock on the door, she called out to the blonde to come in. Peyton entered the kitchen moments later, looking slightly worried. "What's up, Brooke? You called and said you need to talk and that's it. You don't say anything else. What's the matter?" she asked, taking a seat on one of the barstools.

The coffee was finished, and Brooke poured two cups, after asking Peyton if she wanted one. "You know that I was pregnant when I left Tree Hill, and I started raising Kristine on my own, at least until I got married a couple years later," she started, and Peyton nodded, wondering where this was going. "Well, that's not entirely true. I mean, that's not exactly all there is to the story," she said, taking a drink of the coffee after blowing on it.

Just waiting, Peyton blew on her coffee and also took a sip. She knew that nothing was immediately wrong, so she began to relax just a little bit. "Well, in between me moving to New York, and my first husband, I met someone else. I had a one night stand, and I got pregnant, not long after Kristine was born. I knew it wasn't going to work, the father knew it wasn't going to work, and I knew I couldn't handle two children on my own. He didn't want to put it up for adoption, so he kept the baby boy, both of us agreeing to go our own separate ways, and I've hadn't heard from him since," she paused, sipping on her coffee some more.

Running a hand through her hair, Brooke still couldn't believe this. "I just got a call tonight. My son's father and his wife got into a car accident, and they did some investigating, found out about me, and they wanted to know if I would agree to let my son move in with me. I said yes, so I've got to fly up there tomorrow and pick him up. Peyton, I still have a child that might not hate me yet. I have a second chance. I can do right this time, hopefully, and maybe I can manage not to screw my son up like I screwed up with my daughter," she said, smiling.

Reaching out, Peyton placed her hand on Brookes. "That's great, Brooke. I'm really happy for you. This is," she paused, unable to find the words, "something else. I can't believe it, but I'm glad you're happy, and this is amazing," she paused again, and Brooke could tell she had something to say. "Well, um, Haley stopped by today. She wanted Kristine to get a job, and since Audrey quit her job at Tric, I had an opening. I hope you're not upset that Kristine will be working with me," she said.

Taking a moment to think about it, Brooke shook her head. "No, Peyton, it's okay. If you can manage to get close to my daughter, you can keep me updated about her life. I mean, I don't want you to spy on her or anything, but, you know, if she talks to you, or you hear something you think I should know, as her mother, maybe you can keep me updated. I hate that my own daughter doesn't even want to talk to me, you know," she asked.

Nodding, Peyton knew exactly what she meant. She wouldn't spy on Kristine, or invade her privacy, but she would tell Brooke anything she did find out about her, because she knew that if anyone knew things about Audrey that she didn't know, she would love to hear them. "Of course, Brooke. I'll keep you up-to-date on your daughters life, the best I can. I wish there was someone who could do the same for me," she said, and a few minutes later, Peyton had to get back to her own house.

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Hearing the sound of a car speeding down the street, Logan was surprised when it stopped in front of his house. He walked to the window, and spotted the Comet, just before he heard the front door slam. He walked towards the living room, noticing Audrey throwing her purse onto the couch, looking like she wanted to hit something, but at the same time he could tell she wanted to cry. He stepped closer to her. "What's wrong, Rey-Rey?" he asked, worried for her.

Looking up, she finally noticed him, and walked forward, letting him wrap his arms around her. "I was driving by the Rivercourt after work, because I had called Sean, and he had blown me off, and guess who I saw there?" she didn't wait for him to guess before answering. "Sean, with Kristine, and it looked like they were about to kiss. He's cheating on me, with her, and what's more, is he's tutoring her, and he's not going to tell me," she bit her lip to keep from crying, and then pulled away, rubbing the back of her neck.

Pulling her back into a hug, he rubbed her back. "It'll be alright, Audrey. He's a jackass anyway, especially if he's cheating on you. You deserve better than that. You've always deserved better than the way he's treated you, and I don't know why you just take his crap," he said, but when she pulled away a second time that was not what she wanted to hear right then. She just wanted someone to complain about Kristine with, and that wasn't him. He didn't like the way she was treating Kristine any more than he liked the way Sean treated her.

Picking up her purse, she knew what she was going to do. She was going to go get her friend Myra, and she was going to have a girls night. It had been too long since she had just hung out with her friends. She wanted to regroup, and figure out where to go from here. She was tired of Kristine, but she was tired of letting what the other girl was doing decide what she was feeling. If Sean wanted the brunette, then fine, she would let him have her.

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Kristine threw the ball, watching as it missed the hoop, then groaned as it bounced once, only to be picked up by another person. She didn't want to deal with this confrontation, but she knew it was going to happen whether she wanted it to or not. She noticed Myra standing on the edge of the court, obviously waiting for approval before doing anything, and she had to roll her eyes. It was so obvious the way Myra did nothing without the approval of Audrey. She was spineless, and she didn't even care.

Speaking of Audrey, Kristine kept her gaze forward, on the hoop, as Audrey approached, dribbling the ball as she did. She turned and threw the ball in a perfect arc into the basket. "That's how it's supposed to work, in case you didn't know," she said condescendingly elicting a laugh from Myra. Audrey cut her gaze to her minion, and shook her head slightly, and the laugh cut off immediately.

Remembering her earlier decision not to let Audrey push her around anymore, Kristine crossed her arms, shifting her weight onto one hip and cocking her eyebrow at the blonde. "What do you want, Audrey?" she asked, trying not to be intimidated by the two girls. She had stayed out here to think because, although she loved cheerleading, it didn't give her the freedom of thought that basketball did. With basketball, she didn't have to think about it; it just was.

After picking up the basketball again, Audrey tossed it at her. She wasn't really here for trouble. She had honestly just come here to shoot some hoops, but as soon as she had seen Kristine still here, on her court, she got upset. It just felt like Kristine was taking everything from her. "It's not about what I want, is it, Kristine? The question is, what do you want, besides my squad, and my boyfriend, and pretty much my life? Just so you know, I've been working for this life for two years, and I'm not about to let you take it from me," she said.

Instead of denying anything, Kristine stood her ground. "I know that everyone else pretty much adores your every move, but I am not everyone else. I think your boyfriend appreciates that fact," she couldn't help but add as she started to head off the court. She passed Myra, purposefully bumping into her as she did, and turned back to look at Audrey again. "I didn't want to take anything from you before. Now, it's on, beeyotch," she left Audrey standing on the court in surprise.

**A/N: **_This last scene between Audrey and Kristine is pretty much the idea that started this whole fic. It took me this long to work it in, but I actually like it. Let me know what you think about it, and let me know what you think about the curveball I threw in there in the form of Brooke's son. That wasn't an idea I originally had, but I thought it was a good idea. Thanks for the reviews, and I thank you if you're still reading._

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own anything._


	11. Chapter 10

For a few days after Kristine had stood up to Audrey, she felt liberated. Yes, Audrey was still pulling her crap, but Kristine didn't let it affect her anymore. She went from school to cheerleading practice, to work, and then home for dinner. Then after dinner she usually went to the Rivercourt to study with Sean. She was definitely active all day, but she found it wasn't as hard as she had expected it to be. She knew she had support in Sean, and she didn't even have the desire to fall back into her own habits, as she had expected to.

The thing that shocked everyone, was when another new kid showed up at the school. His last name was Baker, but he did have a striking resemblance to Brooke, and Kristine had heard many stories by the end of the day, but the central theme in all of them was that he was Brooke's son. She didn't actually see him, until her last class of the day, which, incidentally, she had with Audrey, Logan and Sean. She finally heard his first name, which was Justin.

A few minutes into class, a paper fell onto her desk, and she looked around, noticing that Sean was sending her a look. She quirked an eyebrow, and unfolded the paper, reading quickly before hiding it, so the teacher wouldn't see it and possibly take it away. She was called on, so she had to focus on the lesson for a second before she could think about the note that she had just read. Sean had written: _'Watch out, Audrey's probably on the warpath. I just broke up with her.' _She didn't know what to think, or what to do.

He was right, though, Audrey was definitely on the warpath, from what she saw. The looks that Audrey kept shooting over at her were not nice at all. Things didn't get any better at all when their teacher announced that, in light of the new student, they were going to have a 'getting to know your classmates' exercise, that they hadn't had at the beginning of the year. It ended in a way that the teacher would have never expected, but then, he hadn't known the wrath of a teenaged girl scorned.

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After meeting Kristine at the Rivercourt that night, Audrey did not let up. She tried even harder to turn this girl into the pariah she should be. She wanted Kristine out of her life, away from her boyfriend, and out of her mom's club. She knew that Kristine was working the job that she had just quit. She also knew that Sean was tutoring Kristine, and she was trying to figure out a way to stop that, too. She just didn't know how she was going to do any of this without getting in trouble. She would figure it out though.

When the new guy arrived at school, Audrey made it a point to find him and introduce herself. She wanted Kristine to know that it wasn't impossible for her to accept a new person into her group of friends. It just had to be the right person. He was cute, she had to admit, but there were way too many confusing emotions regarding guys for her to actually pursue anything. She would file that away though, for a later date, in case she found some way to use it.

At lunch, she was hanging around, just chatting with some of her girlfriends, when Sean approached her, and asked her if they could talk alone. She was sure that it was nothing big, so she smiled at him and followed him away from her friends. "Well, Audrey, to be honest, you've been different lately. You've been a horrible bitch to Kristine, and she has done nothing to deserve this. I know this isn't you, but I love the real version of you, and until you find that version again, I think I'm going to have to call it quits," he said.

For a moment, the words didn't register in Audrey's mind. She couldn't believe it. She didn't even have time to say anything before he just shrugged and walked away. She wanted to scream. She wanted to yell and punch something, but she couldn't allow herself to show that much emotion. She gathered herself, got control of her feelings, and walked back to the lunch area. She didn't go and sit with her friends, though, instead she grabbed her stuff, and went left the lunch room again.

Watching her walk away, Logan saw the look on her face, and he knew that something was up, so he followed her out of the lunch room, and then down the hallway. He called her name, but she kept on walking, and he had to run to catch up with her. He grabbed her arm to stop her, but when he saw her tears, he kept on pulling her, right into his arms. "Shh, shh, it's alright, Aud," he started rubbing her back and let her cry on his shoulder because of Sean, again. "It's going to be alright, Audrey," he said again.

This time she pulled away, wiping her tears and getting a determined look on her face. He could tell that she was going to say something that he wasn't going to like. "Yes, Logan, it will be alright, because I will get her back for this. She may have caused Sean to break up with me, and he may think he wants her now, but I will not let her get away with this," she said, but she noticed his look and she forced a smile. "Like you said, it'll be alright. Don't worry," she leaned up, on impulse, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for the talk," she said before she turned and continued walking again.

As he watched her, he could tell that something was going to go wrong with her plan, and when he got to his last period class and the teacher started a 'getting to know you' group discussion, he knew that it was going to go wrong. "So, you're Brooke Davis's son?" Audrey asked the new guy, who nodded, and before he could as someone a question, which were the rules, Audrey smiled wickedly, and looked over at Kristine, "Well, I guess it didn't take your mom long to replace you. How does it feel to realize that your mom's secrets never stop coming?" she smirked.

Instead of letting this affect her, Kristine smiled sweetly back. "At least I know who my father is," she answered, and she could tell she had hit a nerve with Audrey, but she didn't stop there. "How does it feel to know that everyone in your life likes me better than you, including your own mother?" she kept her tone calm and even, but she kept the curiosity in her tone. The teacher tried to stop it, but before he could gain control, Audrey had crossed the couple of rows separating her and Kristine and she had hit the other girl, which started a fight in class.

While both teenaged girls were sitting in the office waiting for a permission to leave, the door opened, and Lucas walked into the room. He looked at the principal, who had just finished lecturing them. "Haley wants Kristine to wait with her in her classroom until she's finished working," he said, and the principal nodded, dismissing Kristine, who immediately left the room. He looked at Audrey, and then back at the principal. "She can go, can't she, since she's legally emancipated from her mother now," he prompted, and the principal dismissed her, too.

Quickly dropping the ice she had been holding to her hand, Audrey pushed past Lucas and headed down the hallway, but Lucas wasn't letting her go that easily. He caught up with her and kept pace as she continued walking. "Audrey, will you come with me to my office?" he asked, and she looked like she wanted to say no, but she sighed instead and just followed him into his office, sitting down at the seat he pointed to in front of his desk as he walked around it and sat in his own chair. "Want to tell me what this is about?" he asked her.

Rolling her eyes in a way that reminded him exactly of her mother, Audrey looked down at her nails before looking back up at the man who was her father in DNA only. "I really don't have to be here, do I? I mean, you're not my teacher. You may be my father, but you haven't cared up to now, so why start getting involved? Let's just say that I was having a bad day, and I hate her, and that was it," she snapped, getting out of her seat and making her way to the door.

Clearing his throat, Lucas knew she was right, but he just didn't want to let her leave like that. "Wait," he said, and she did, turning to look at him again. He stood up, and she just raised an eyebrow at him, wondering where he was going with this. "Audrey, I know you blame your mother, and you don't know me, but she was just doing what she thought was best for you, and I honestly don't know what I would have done back then. She loves you, though, and she would do anything for you, so just don't hate her. She doesn't deserve that," he said.

Waiting a few moments, Audrey realized that he wasn't going to say anything else. She knew he was trying to come to terms with the fact that he had a daughter, too, though, so she couldn't really blame him. "I just need time. I don't hate her, I just don't trust her anymore, and I need time away from her so I can try to wrap my mind around why she did this to me," she paused, and he nodded. "That doesn't mean we can't get to know each other, though. I shouldn't blame you for something she did. Maybe we can go have coffee sometime, and talk," she suggested.

Grinning, Lucas nodded again. "That would be great. It's different, knowing I'm a father. This is all new to me. I can understand if you don't want people to know that I'm your father, but as long as we can still get to know each other, that's alright with me. How about Saturday morning? Maybe before practice we can meet at the Café for breakfast, or something," he offered, and she didn't say no, so they agreed upon a time to meet and then she left his office.

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Brooke was in the parking lot, waiting for her son who had yet to show up, when Lucas was leaving the school. He approached her car slowly, and she watched him cautiously, because they hadn't really had a chance to talk since she had shown up at Tric and told everyone who Kristine's father was. He wasn't sure what to say to her. "Your daughter got into a fight today, with Audrey Sawyer. She's in Haley's classroom right now. She's been suspended for three days because it was her first offense. I just thought you should know," he said shortly before turning to walk away.

For a moment, Brooke didn't know what to say, but then she grabbed Lucas's arm before he could get away. He turned to look at her again. "Thanks for telling me," she said, and then blew out a sigh, running her hands through her hair. She turned away from him, but he stood rooted to the spot, because a part of him knew she wanted to talk. "How did everything get to be like this, Lucas? My own daughter hates me. My son probably will too after living with me for a while. How did I screw up so badly with my kids. I never wanted to be my own parents, but it appears I'm even worse than them," she said, sounding utterly hopeless.

Unsure of what to do, Lucas finally followed his instincts and pulled her into a hug. He knew she needed it right now. "You're not worse than your parents, Brooke. You've tried your best. Yeah, you've made some mistakes, but there's still time to fix them. Kristine's a good kid, she won't hate you forever, and I'm sure your son will want to hate you, but be here for him now, show him you love him, and you do care, and you can make things right with him. There's always time to fix things, Brooke," he said as he rubbed her back before letting her go.

Looking up at him, she smiled, because somehow Lucas Scott always knew the right things to say to make everything better. She saw her son approaching and she nodded. She wanted to go see if Kristine would talk to her, but she knew that she also needed to have a talk with Justin. She didn't know what to do. "Don't worry about Kristine. I'm sure Haley and Nathan will talk to her, and I might even go have a few words with her myself. I know she'll need her mom at one point, but so does your son," he offered, and she sent him a thankful look before he walked away.

Walking past her and getting in the car, Justin didn't say a word, and Brooke sighed as she walked around and got behind the wheel. She started driving, but she knew she needed to break the silence. "I'm so sorry for letting your father take you. There hasn't been one day that I haven't thought about you, but I was already a single mother, and I didn't know how to be a mother to a daughter, much less a son too. I thought he would be better able to take care of you. I thought it would be best for you," she finally said, and he scoffed.

Knowing that she deserved that, Brooke didn't comment on it. "I'm not lying, Justin. At that time I barely had the money to support myself and one child, much less too. Your father proposed his idea, and I knew it wasn't going to work out between me and him, so I accepted. I never planned on staying out of your life forever though. I knew I wouldn't be able to get you back while you were still a minor, because I had signed the papers handing you over, but I was planning on finding you when you were 18 and seeing if you would get to know me then," she continued, and this time he didn't scoff.

Taking a moment to think about her words, he could tell she was telling the truth, but he didn't know if that made things any better. "I guess it could have been worse," he finally said, and she looked relieved for a moment, before he continued speaking. "I mean, look at Kristine, she actually was raised by you, and she seems far worse off than I am," he finished, but something in his tone told her he was only partly serious, and he was trying to joke around with her. She knew it wouldn't be perfect, but she would accept whatever start he would give her.

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Following Haley out to the car, Kristine didn't say anything. She knew her step-mother was going to want to talk to her, but that didn't mean she had to start the conversation. She spotted Lucas walking towards them, and was surprised when he stopped them. "Hey, Hales, do you mind if I drive Kristine over to Tric today? I just think it'll be a fun uncle/niece bonding moment, since I do know a few things about fighting in school," he offered and Haley could tell he wanted to do this, so she just nodded and let Kristine go with Lucas.

Once they were in the car, Lucas could tell Kristine was reluctant to break the silence. "I'm not going to yell at you, and, just for the record, I'm sure Nathan and Haley won't either. Yes, they'll be upset, but they won't yell," he paused, and she just waited, sure that he had a point. "So, how do you feel, about your new brother, going to school with you. It must be weird, right, going from having no siblings, to having two teenaged brothers, and a couple of younger siblings to be an example for," he offered as a conversation starter.

The young brunette was still curious as to why Lucas had asked to drive her to work. "I don't know, I guess it's different, but I really love Daniel and Lillian. They're fun to play with, and their innocence is really charming. James is alright. We get along normally for a couple of teenagers that just found out they were brother and sister. Justin," she paused and sighed. "Well, I don't really know Justin yet, and I don't know if he's going to want to get to know me, or if I want to get to know him. I just can't believe that more of my mom's lies are coming out. What's going to be next? Maybe Nathan isn't my real father, and I'm going to have to get used to a new family all over again, or maybe she just isn't my mother at all," she rolled her eyes.

Parking in front of Tric, Lucas could see that Kristine was still feeling very angry at her mother. He knew that she needed to let go of that anger, but he couldn't find the right words that wouldn't make her mad at him too. "Listen, Kristine, your mom may have made a lot of mistakes, but remember, she's your mother. You only get one in life. You may be mad at her now, but just don't keep your anger for too long. You're mad at what she did, and you have every right to be, but don't hold on to the anger until it's too late. Anything could happen, and if you don't fix things with your mom soon, it might be too late," he knew his words were running in circles, so he decided to cut himself off and let her get out of the car.

**A/N: **_Well, tell me what you think about this chapter. That's about all I have to say._

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own anything._


	12. Chapter 11

When her suspension was over and Audrey was allowed to go back to school, she already had a plan. If Kristine was going to use Sean to make Audrey jealous, then Audrey was going to get close to the one person Kristine would want to get close to, before Kristine had the chance. She had spent her three days considering, and today was finally time to put her ideas into action. She had worn one of her shorter miniskirts today, and a tank top that showed off her cleavage. She spotted him as soon as Brooke dropped him off, and she abandoned her friends to make her way over to him

Watching her leave, Logan wondered just what she was doing. He had been thinking that since Sean broke up with her, he might have a chance with her, but he could tell she was determined, and when he saw where she was headed, he could almost read her mind, and Logan would have no chance right now. He knew Audrey and he knew that when she set her mind on something there was no changing it. He was disappointed, but he would keep waiting on her. He didn't like the way she was so dead set against Kristine, but he knew that Audrey was a good person, despite her recent behavior and he knew she was worth waiting for.

As she approached him, Justin looked up, and Audrey flashed him a smile, reaching up to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. She glanced down slightly to look up at him from beneath her lashes as she closed the distance. "Hey, Justin, I know you probably remember me from class, but I just wanted to come up and properly introduce myself. My name's Audrey Sawyer. I just want to let you know you're welcome here, and anything you need, just let me know, and I really do mean anything, when I say that," she sent him a seductive smile as she met his gaze again.

Looking as if he didn't quite know what to make of her, Justin thanked her, as he continued walking. She fell into step with him, looping her arm though his as she noticed Kristine and Sean watching. "I really mean that. I know what it's like to be new to this school, and since you didn't arrive at the beginning of the year, you might be a little behind. I'd be happy to help you catch up in your classes, or update you on the social life here. We should get together this weekend. I'm moving into my new apartment, but maybe we can get a pizza, and hang out in my apartment together. I'd hate to stay in a new place all alone," she flirted as they passed the two.

When Audrey and Justin passed, Kristine just stared. Sean was staring too, but not at the blonde girl. He knew that Kristine knew that Audrey was just getting close to her brother to get back at her, and he could see that she was conflicted about what to do about it. She could tell Justin, and warn him, but it isn't likely that he would believe her, considering they barely knew each other. She didn't even know if she wanted to get to know him. She had been considering it while she had been suspended; she'd had nothing else to do, considering she was grounded. Nathan and Haley had only allowed her to go to work during those three days.

On the one hand, he was her brother, and if she was getting to know James, why shouldn't she get to know Justin? She knew that staying away from him just because he was living with their mother wasn't fair. They could wind up being very good friends, regardless of whose genes they shared. She didn't even know if he wanted to get know her, though. She knew that if he got sucked in by Audrey, he probably wouldn't, but then, maybe she could get to know him first. She figured she could at least try, and if he didn't want anything to do with her, that was his choice, but she shouldn't let Audrey's interference, or their mother, get in the way of her getting to know her sibling.

Finally, Sean could take the silence no longer. He gently nudged her shoulder as he began walking again, and she followed. "So, Kris, care to share what's going on in that mind of yours? I can tell it must be something big. If you don't want to, it's cool, but, you know I'm always here if you want to talk," he said, cutting himself off before he could start to ramble. She was the only one who had this effect on him, and it was still very unsettling. He liked to be in control, but with her, he had no idea what to do or say to keep her around, and he wasn't sure he liked how that made him feel.

Biting on her lip, Kristine tried not to wince at the nickname he had started calling her. She didn't normally like that shortened form of her name, because she felt it was a guy's name, but somehow coming from him it wasn't so bad. She actually kind of liked the way it rolled off his tongue, and the emotions it incited in her. She knew she was getting too close to him, but she couldn't help it. She spent so much time with him, and she could tell he enjoyed it as much as she did. She could tell there were moments when they both wanted to move their friendship to the next level, but she wasn't going to be the one to make the first move.

Part of her knew that Audrey's hatred would only intensify if she actually started dating Sean, and she didn't want that, but at the same time she didn't want to lose the chance to have something great just because of Audrey. She decided to just let it keep playing out the way it was though. She might be wrong about his feelings for her, and she wasn't going to lose his friendship over something like that. "Not right now, maybe later though," she answered as they made it to her locker and she began spinning her lock, trying her hardest not to look across the hall, where Audrey was still openly flirting with Justin.

Luckily the bell rang a few seconds later, and Kristine got to go to class, where she didn't have to watch Audrey flirting with her brother. She really didn't like this. She knew that was exactly what Audrey wanted, so she decided that she wasn't going to take it. She was still going to get to know her brother, as long as he wanted to get to know her. She was fairly sure that if she could talk to him, get to know him before Audrey got her claws too deep in him, she would at least be able to convince him that they should be friends, or that they didn't have to be enemies, anyway.

When she entered the quad and saw that Audrey was already seated next to Justin, practically in his lap, she wondered if there was ever going to be a moment when Audrey wouldn't be hanging off of her brother, so she could get him alone. She went to the table she had taken to sitting at with Sean, and decided not to worry about it for now. She knew that the blonde couldn't spend every second of every day with her brother, so she would find her moment, she just hoped it was soon. She didn't like the feeling that Audrey was cutting her off from her family.

When Brooke had opened her Tree Hill store, Audrey had gone in looking for a job, which was how she now had the money for her own place. She earned more at Clothes Over Bros than she had when she was working for her mom, because when she had been working for her mom, she had just needed money for shopping and stuff, so she hadn't worked as much as she was now. She had earned enough now that she had enough to pay her down payment and first month's rent for her apartment and Logan was helping her move in this weekend.

Part of her wished she didn't have to move out of Logan's place, but she knew she needed a place of her own, not just because she wanted the space, but because she needed the independence. She needed to show her mom that she hadn't made a mistake, thinking she could move out on her own. She also needed to prove to herself that she could make it on her own, and she wasn't really on her own if she was living off Logan's parents. She knew that Lucas didn't entirely agree with her getting her own place, but other than that brief disagreement, their meeting for coffee on Saturday had been alright.

_FLASHBACK_

_Entering the Café, Audrey pushed her sunglasses off of her eyes and into her hair, and looked around. She spotted Lucas sitting in a booth and made her way over to him. She sat down across from him and folded her hands on the table as she looked across at him. She didn't break the silence for a moment, but she could tell he wasn't, so she finally sighed. "Alright, fine, I'll say something," she rolled her eyes in a perfect imitation of her mother, though Lucas didn't point that out. "What exactly have you done with your life besides coach basketball?" she cocked an eyebrow._

_Unable to help himself, Lucas smiled, because she reminded him so much of her mother in that moment, although he wouldn't tell her that because he knew that would probably make her get up and walk out at this time, so he would save bringing up anything relating her to her mother for a time when he felt more sure that she would stick around. "Audrey, I'm sorry I wasn't around. I really wish I could go back and change that, but we can't change the past. The best we can do is move on and try to make the future better," he replied._

_Looking slightly taken aback by his tone, Audrey sat back into her seat, slumping for a moment as she considered this. He was right. She couldn't change the mistakes her mother had made, and she knew Lucas couldn't either, but apparently he wanted to be her father now. She wasn't sure she needed that exactly, but she knew the least she could do was get to know him. She was actually kind of interested in learning about his past. "Okay, you're right, I'll retract the claws, but the question still remains, if perhaps a little nicer. What else have you been doing in your life?" she said in a nicer tone._

_For a while the two of them talked, and Audrey was actually surprised by how interested she was in what Lucas was saying. She enjoyed learning about her father, and telling him about herself. She liked learning about the things she got from him, and she knew for sure now what she got from her mom and what she got from him. He focused for the most part on the time before and after his junior year, when his stories just involved Haley, or his life in Charleston after that, but after a while he did start telling stories about his junior year, including stories about her mom, Brooke and Nathan._

_The way he talked about Peyton, Audrey could easily tell he was still in love with her. She didn't mention it, but she did start telling him stories about her childhood that included her mother, because she knew he wanted the information, despite the fact that he was too stubborn to ask. She wasn't sure why, exactly they had broken up. She knew it had something to do with the secrets and the lies, but she also knew these two blondes were in love with each other, even after all the years of separation, and she didn't understand why they couldn't just get past all the drama and move on._

_Part of her knew that was hypocritical, wondering why he couldn't forgive her mother when she couldn't forgive her, but she had forgiven her mother. She knew that Peyton had done what she had believed was the best thing for her, but she wanted to prove to herself that she could make it on her own now. She knew that she had probably taken it too far with the emancipation, but she was too stubborn to take it all back now. She realized that she had gotten lost in her thoughts and that he had stopped telling the story he had been in the middle of. "You should talk to Mom, you know. She probably needs you now," she said._

_Something shifted in his eyes, and she knew that he didn't want to discuss this with her, but she caught sight of a clock on the wall behind his head and she realized she had places to be. "Well, Lucas, this has been fun, but I have to take a walk though on this apartment I'm planning on renting, so we'll have to meet up another time," she said as she grabbed her purse and stood. He stood too, and she could tell her wanted to hug her or something, but she wasn't ready for that yet. "If I get the place, do you think you could help me move my stuff in next weekend?" she asked, taking a step back._

_END FLASHBACK_

Of course, he had agreed, and Logan and Lucas had just finished moving the last of the boxes into her new apartment. She grabbed two waters from the refrigerator, and tossed one to each of them, who had collapsed on the couch they had just brought in. She took a seat in between them, and felt a sense of accomplishment because she now had her own apartment. "Thanks, both of you, I appreciate it," she leaned into Logan's side casually, and after he finished chugging about half of his water, he draped his arm over her shoulders, neither of them thinking twice about the action.

Watching them, Lucas could tell that there was something between them, but he wasn't going to say anything to his daughter about her feelings for her best friend. He didn't want to step in and interfere with her love life. He didn't even want to think about it. He checked his phone and realized he had to head home and shower so he could go over to Haley's and Nathan's. Nathan was barbequing and they had invited Lucas over. "Well, I'm heading over to Nathan and Haley's in a while, so I'll leave you guys alone. Be careful," he said, sending his daughter a look, because he knew saying anything else would be pushing it.

Before Lucas could make it to the front door, Audrey got to her feet and followed him. She gave him a quick hug, surprising the both of them. "Thanks, Lucas," she repeated as she stepped back and her blue eyes met the match of her own. She bit her lip, and he knew she wanted to say something else. "How are Haley and Nathan doing? I haven't really seen them since," she trailed off, both of them knowing she meant she hadn't seen them since she'd moved out of her mother's house and stopped coming to dinners on Sunday nights.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to convince her to come, considering it was very likely her mother would show up, he felt he should extend the invitation anyway. "You could come over and find out for yourself, you know. I'm sure Haley and Nathan miss you, as do Daniel and Lillian. They always ask about you. My mom's going to be there too," he paused, noticing her hesitation. "Look, just think about it. If Peyton's there, you don't have to interact with her. I'm sure everyone would love to see you," he finished, hoping she would at least think about it, and left the apartment.

Returning to the couch, Audrey was considering going. She was supposed to hang out with Justin later, but she could stop by Nathan and Haley's house for a little while. She looked at Logan, and she already knew what he would say. He was looking back at her and she could practically hear the words coming out of his mouth already. "I said I'll think about it, okay," she leaned back into the couch and titled her head back but she could still feel his gaze on her. "Fine, I'll go, just stop giving me that look," she leaned forward and grabbed the couch pillow from behind her, tossing it at him.

When he caught the pillow he smiled at her, and she got up again to avoid his gaze. "I need to shower and get ready. I'm all sweaty. You can hang and put on a movie or something if you want," she headed to her bedroom to dig her shower stuff out of one of the boxes. She didn't have cable or anything, but she had a TV and DVD player, and she had tons of movies. She didn't mind him hanging out while she showered and got ready, and they both knew it. "When you take off your shoes, make sure you open the front door or open a window or something," she teased, and he tossed the pillow that he was still throwing at her, but she dodged it on the way to her room.

After her shower she wrapped herself in her robe and wrapped her hair in a towel, then headed to the kitchen for a bottle of water. She saw Logan still sprawled out on her couch, shoes kicked off and arm behind his head as he watched the TV. She smiled to herself and rolled her eyes, because he had fallen asleep. She didn't wake him up, just walked over to the fridge and grabbed a water. She knew he was probably tired out because they had stayed up most of the night, just hanging out, and then he had spent all morning moving her stuff.

Something about her presence woke Logan up, and he glanced over just as she was bending down to grab her water. He probably could have stared all day, but she straightened as if she had felt his eyes, and turned to face him. She rolled her eyes at him, but didn't say anything about what they both knew he had just been staring at. She headed for her room again so she could change, opening her mouth as she did, but before she could say anything he cut her off. "You really are so beautiful, Audrey," the words slipped out of his mouth without his consent, but he didn't take them back

Freezing in place, Audrey slowly turned around to meet his gaze. She bit her lip as she looked at him, but neither of them said anything for a minute. She swallowed loudly, but decided to just play off his compliment instead of really addressing it. "You're my best friend, Logan, and I love you for saying that, but I've decided I'm not going anyway, not because of my mom," she cut him off because she knew that he opened his mouth to say something about Peyton, "but because Kristine will be there, seeing at she does live there, and I just don't want to deal with her tonight," she finished.

Sensing that he wouldn't be able to change her mind, he could also tell that she wanted to be alone for a while, or at least away from him and the awkward moment he had just made. He stood and shoved his feet back into his shoes. "Fine, I won't give you any grief about it. Just think about making some kind of contact with them, okay? Karen is your grandmother, even though she doesn't know that, and Haley and Nathan are your aunt and uncle. Connection to Kristine or not, they're still your relatives," he said as he headed for the door. "I'll see you later," he added as he left.

Still trying to process the moment that had just happened, Audrey barely remembered to call out another thank you to him for helping her move, and she definitely didn't have any time to respond to what he had just said before he was gone. She felt bad for causing him to leave like that, but she really didn't know what to say when he said stuff like that. She knew what she wanted to say, but she couldn't say what she really wanted to say. She was stuck in an awkward limbo with Logan that would only end when they tipped the scale in one direction or another, and she didn't want to be the one to tip it.

A little while later, her mind was completely off the Logan situation, because she had called Justin, who had come over, and now they were hanging out in her living room, TV on and a pizza box in front of them as they lounged on the floor, their backs against the couch as they talked and laughed. She wasn't sure where this was going, or what was going to happen, but she did enjoy the evening she spent with Justin, and she knew she wanted to spend more time with him. She tried to tell herself that it was just because it would piss Kristine off, but part of her had a feeling that something more could be happening.

**A/N: **_So I set up a few different storylines in this chapter. Nothing big really happened, but I did like writing the Audrey/Lucas scene. Someone asked a question in their last review, and I just wanted to say that if you know who you are, the answer is as far as Nathan and Haley go, they are a strong couple, and they won't be broken up in this fic. I hope you guys are still reading, and you review. Thanks to the people who reviewed the last chapter._

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own anything._


	13. Chapter 12

Slamming the door to the house, Justin stalked angrily down the front steps. He and his mom had been fighting nonstop ever since a week ago when he announced he was dating Audrey. It had been fine for the three weeks before that when he was just hanging out with her, but suddenly, now that they had gone out on a date, Brooke suddenly became overprotective every time he said he was going over to Audrey's apartment. He hadn't actually done anything that Brooke could ground him for yet though, which was why he still held his tongue against all the angry words he wanted to say to his mother. He wasn't going to give her a reason to ground him, even there were plenty of things he wanted, no, needed to say.

Standing at the next corner, he looked one way, and then the next. He could turn left and go to Audrey's apartment, or he could turn right and go to the house where Kristine lived with the Scotts. He paused for a moment. He had hung out a few times with Kristine, trying to get to know her as his sister, and learn more about their mother, but right now he wanted to spend time with his girlfriend. He wanted to forget about his mother and his troubles for a bit, or maybe even talk about then, but not with Kristine. He turned left and zipped up his jacket as he kept walking.

In her apartment, Audrey and Logan were watching a movie on her couch. He was sitting on one end and she was lounging with her feet in his lap, and he was absently rubbing them. She had done a good job of keeping the two of them apart, because she knew that Logan didn't approve of her budding relationship with Justin, and she didn't want to get into an argument with him over it, because she already knew exactly what he would say, and she just didn't want to fight with him when she was too stubborn to concede. She had been sure to make plans with each of them on separate days because of that, which wasn't too hard, considering she spent a lot of time with Justin when she was at work, and he would hang around to spend time with her.

Right now she was just hanging out with Logan because she had worked every day that week, and she felt like since she and Justin had officially moved their relationship to the dating level she hadn't gotten much a chance to see her best friend. She also wanted to go over to Nathan and Haley's for dinner tonight, because Logan had been bugging her about it every week, and Lucas had too, but she had only agreed to go if Logan would go with her. She was putting off getting up off the couch and actually going, and she knew that soon he was going to force her to get up.

Just as Logan was going to tell her she had to get up so they could go, there was a knock on the front door, followed by it opening and Justin stepping inside. She never locked her front door, and everyone who knew her knew that. She glanced up and saw Justin come in, and she immediately withdrew her feet from Logan's lap, sitting up. She saw the look on his face and stood up, walking over to pull him in a hug. "Do you want to talk about it now or later?" she asked, for the moment forgetting about Logan. She was really coming to care about Justin, and she wanted to be there for him.

Looking over her shoulder at Logan before he looked down at her, Justin shook his head. "Let's talk about it later. Right now I just want to ignore it," he trailed his hands down her arms, took one of her hands, and led her over to the couch. She glanced at Logan, and back at Justin, and she knew that Logan was wondering what she was going to do. She didn't say anything for a moment, and finally Logan stood up, intending to just leave, because he didn't want to force Audrey into making a decision, mainly because he was scared of the outcome.

Before he could make up some excuse to leave, though, Audrey spoke up. "Actually, babe, Logan I and were heading over to Haley and Nathan's for dinner tonight. Lucas is going to be there, and probably my mom too. I know Kristine will be there. Would you like to come with us?" she asked slowly. She hadn't been sure that she wanted to bring him with her because she avoided bringing Justin close enough to Kristine where she would have to witness them talking and getting along, but she could tell Justin needed her right now, and she didn't want to blow off what she had promised Logan she would do.

Taking a moment to think about it, Justin wasn't sure what to say. A part of him didn't want to go and see Kristine around her other family, because he was jealous. She had gotten to know their mom, and now she had a whole other family that loved her too. All Justin had had was his father, and now his father was gone and he was stuck with a mother who had given him up, and he still wasn't convinced she had ever really wanted him, despite what she had said to him when he had first moved in. He just wished he could have gotten so lucky. He tried not to let it affect his friendship with Kristine though, because it wasn't her fault that she had people who loved her. He just didn't really want to be exposed to that. He also wasn't sure how they would accept him, considering everyone that would be there was mad at Brooke.

Sensing his hesitation, Audrey was going to speak up again and tell both guys that she would abandon her plans for the night and just hang out with Justin instead, but Justin slowly nodded. "If it gets too awkward, we can bail, right?" he asked, trying to put some humor into his tone but not really pulling it off. Audrey and Logan could both tell there was an underlying seriousness to his tone that said he meant it. He just didn't want to stick around if he was going to be hated, like he expected to be, for being Brooke's child. He hadn't been around many families that were loving and accepting. The only family member besides his father that he had spoken to on a regular basis was his uncle, and he hadn't heard from him once in the month since he'd moved to Tree Hill.

Smiling and hoping to break the tension as the trio thought about how badly the night could end, Audrey stood, trying to be optimistic. "I promise you, the second things start going badly I'll be the first one out the front door. I just miss Nathan and Haley, and maybe even my mom a little bit," she admitted to the pair. She wouldn't have told just anyone that, and she was surprised she could tell Justin that. She also missed her father, a tiny bit, even though she had seen him a few times since he had helped her move in. She wouldn't admit that particular detail to anyone except Logan, though, and only because she knew that he would be able to tell anyway.

With that being said, the three of them left her apartment and piled in her Comet so she could drive to Nathan and Haley's. She parked in front of the house, noticing that both Peyton and Lucas's cars were already there. She hesitated for a brief moment as Justin and Logan got out, but she quickly opened the car door as soon as they both turned back to look at her. She led the way to the front door and stood between the two guys as she knocked, grabbing both Logan and Justin's hands and giving each a squeeze before she dropped Logan's.

When Haley opened her front door, she was a little surprised to see Justin standing there. She had known that Audrey and Logan would be there because Lucas had told her, but she was shocked to see Justin with them. She pulled Audrey into a hug, though, all smiles and then pulled back to let the three of them in. She gestured Audrey and Logan into the living room, but put a hand on Justin's arm. "I know you're probably nervous about being here, but in the Scott family, one rule is to never judge a child based on the mistakes of their parents. If you knew Lucas and Nathan's father, you'd know why," she paused, and she could see he was wondering where she was going with this.

Smiling, she slowly started to lead him into the living room. "That means that no matter who your parents are, if you're friends to one of us, you're friends to all of us," she paused, turning serious. "Now, that also means, if you hurt one of us, Audrey included, even though she's not blood related, you will have some very angry men in this family to answer to, particularly Nathan, who's grown quite fond of her, and especially Lucas, who is still in love with her mother, even if he won't admit it. So just remember that," she said as they entered the room where everyone else was.

After Audrey and Logan had entered the room, everyone else had wondered what was taking Haley so long to come back. Nathan was about to go find her, when she entered, with Justin right behind her. Kristine was missing, but Nathan, Lucas, Peyton, Karen, Keith and James all stared at him for a moment, before welcoming him into the group. The little kids were on the floor playing, and Lily was sitting on the living room floor too, but not really participating in the playing. She and Daniel, who was just a year younger than her, were watching the adults as if anticipating the drama that could unfold.

When things didn't take a turn to the dramatic side, they became uninterested and went back to watching the younger children as the adults and teenagers made conversation. Karen made a fuss over Audrey, and told her she was disappointed that it had been so long, and that the next time she was going to miss dinner for so many months, she had at least better visit Karen at Tric or the Café. Audrey looked appropriately chastened, and Karen seemed to accept that. Justin stood with their hands still linked, watching them talk, but not really saying much of anything else.

As Logan talked with James, he watched Audrey, and she made her way around the room, stopping for conversation with everyone, with Justin trailing at her side. She included him in conversation a little bit, but he could tell she was enjoying catching up with everyone, while avoiding Peyton for the most part. He also knew she was glad Kristine wasn't there. She had actually stopped being openly mean to Kristine at school, mainly because of her relationship with Justin, and he was glad that she seemed to be turning back into the person she used to be. He still longed to be with her, but he was used to being just friends.

Watching one of his best friends staring at the girl he had been in love with since the first day he'd seen her practically was beginning to get wearing to James. He snapped his fingers in front of Logan's face to get his attention. "When are you finally going to get over your fears and tell her you love her?" he asked when Logan finally looked at him. He watched as Logan's eyes widened, because he hadn't let his best friend know that he knew before. "No point in denying it. I've been your best friend since we were kids, and it's pretty obvious to everyone but her," he paused. "It's also obvious she loves you back," he added.

Opening his mouth to protest, Logan thought a moment, but then his eyes went back to Audrey, and he decided against it. He closed his mouth again and sighed before finally speaking. "I never will. I thought about it, after she and Sean broke up, but then she got with Justin, and I realized the truth. She's never going to think of me like that. We'll always be friends, because I'm never going to risk losing her friendship. I know she needs me as a friend, and if that's all she ever needs me for, I think I can live with that, as long as she's happy," he finished, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Before James got a chance to say anything else, the front door opened, and Kristine came into the room a few moments later, leading Sean by the hand. It was easy to tell they had taken their relationship to the more than friends stage, especially when Kristine froze at the sight of Audrey, causing Sean to bump into her, and then they shared a guilty look. Audrey stared at the brunette whom she had actually been thinking about becoming friends with, or at the very least, letting go of the hatred for. The tension in the room mounted as everyone waited for one of them to do something.

OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH

The month had passed with fewer and fewer incidents with Audrey. Kristine was actually starting to think that Audrey dating her brother might actually not be a bad thing. She was getting to know him, and they were actually forming a good relationship, she thought, especially if it meant that Audrey would stop being so hateful towards her. She was actually liking cheerleading practice now, instead of the way it was before, when she only went because they guys had their practice at the same time. She didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that.

Which was why she was surprised to find Sean's lips on hers. She knew that she had been developing feelings for him. Heck, these feelings had started developing that first night she met him, if she was honest with herself, but for some reason, she thought they were one-sided, unreciprocated by the guy who hadn't seemed to give her a sign that he felt the same way. She was okay with that, though, because she knew Audrey would go right back to hating her if she started dating Sean, and she was sure that they would be better as friends anyway, what with his somewhat playerish reputation.

When he kissed her though, she forgot all about Audrey and any other reason she shouldn't be with Sean. She kissed him back, knocking their books aside as she practically crawled into his lap. She laced her fingers through his hair and pulled him closer still as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She was mildly surprised when she had to pull away fro air and found herself practically laying on top of him, and that made her jump back, pulling away from him as she fought to find her rational side again. She had to take a few deep breaths as he sat back up, trying to figure out what she was thinking.

To be honest, she was trying to figure it out too. One minute, she had been doing her homework, sticking her tongue out a tiny bit as she concentrated, and then the next he had tilted her chin up and kissed her. Her head was reeling and she knew she should tell him that they shouldn't have done that, but she couldn't remember the reasons why. Audrey was not his girlfriend anymore. She had no claim on him, and Kristine was starting to think there really could be something between her and Sean. "Why did you do that?" she questioned, wondering where that had even come from.

What he really wanted to do was keep kissing her, but he knew they had to talk this over. He knew he had to convince her to try going out with him first though. He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I like you, Kristine Davis. There is no other explanation but that. I think we could really have something here. I'm tired of trying to pretend I don't like you to protect you from Audrey. If Audrey doesn't like the fact that I want to date you, it's her problem. I don't care anymore. She's moved on already. It's time I do too, and there is no one else I would want to move on with than you. So please, tell me you'll try this with me?" he reached out for her hand.

That speech really did mean a lot to her. She knew that he could probably date anyone else in school right now, or sleep with them all and date none of them, but he wanted to go out with her. He didn't have to date her, but he wanted to, and he had only been hiding his feelings to protect her from his ex? She decided then that she would face whatever Audrey would throw at her. She didn't want to hide her feelings from him anymore either. She liked him, and there was nothing Audrey could do about it. She took his hand and pulled him into a kiss again.

After she managed to stop herself from kissing him, she realized that it was time for her to get home for dinner. She suddenly wanted to bring him along, to see if he would fit in with the family. She realized then that they already knew him, and most didn't really like him for the way he had treated Audrey. She knew that he wasn't that person though. He might have been then, but she knew a different side of him, and she wanted the rest of them to see that side too. "Will you come to dinner at my house with me?" she asked as they packed up their stuff.

For a moment, Sean didn't know what to say. He knew from his years of dating Audrey that this was the day they all had dinner together. He knew that Audrey hadn't been there since Kristine had moved in, so he wasn't worried about her, but everyone else knew him, and they knew how he had treated Audrey. He saw the look in Kristine's eyes, though, and he knew he couldn't refuse her. She believed in him, he could tell, and he wanted to be worth it. He would prove to her family that he was worth it too. "Alright, Kris, since you're my girlfriend now, I'll go," he paused, "but only because I think I could take James in a fight," he added, mostly jokingly.

Rolling her eyes, she finished packing up her books and followed him to his car, glad to be able to hold his hand like she had been aching to for so long. She knew it felt right, and while she knew that when they went to school on Monday they would face the blonde and her wrath, she knew it would be worth it because she knew he now felt the same way about her. She was sure that she'd be able to face Audrey when they went to school, or at least she was sure of that until they got to the house and walked into the living room, and there the blonde was.

No one said anything for a few moments, and eyes flickered between the two teenaged girls. Peyton wanted to reach out, say the right words to calm her daughter down before she did something she regretted. She didn't get the chance to move though before Audrey turned on her heel and ran out of the house. She was fuming mad and she didn't want to cause a scene in front of her family. She was also worried she would start crying, and she didn't want everyone to see that. She didn't like crying, especially not in front of her family, and she didn't understand why she felt like crying now.

The first to recover, Kristine ran after the blonde, wanting to find some way to make it better. She didn't want to go back to the way things had been, with all the hatred. She liked the way things had become, even though Audrey was ignoring her for the most part, she wasn't constantly hating her, and she was beginning to think that maybe one day they could be friends. She needed Audrey to understand that her feelings were real, and she couldn't stop them. "Wait, Audrey, listen," she grabbed the blonde's arm to stop her before she walked out the front door.

Spinning to face Kristine, and grabbing onto her anger, Audrey pulled her arm out of Kristine's grasp. "No, you listen. I don't care to hear whatever bullshit you're about to come out with. You want to date my ex, you go right ahead, but remember this, I was with him for two years. I know that he cheats, and I know he goes for the easy lay. So don't think you can change that. I spent two years trying, and one day someone new and more interesting than you will come along and take him from you the same way you took him from me," she snapped, turning on her heel and running out the door before Kristine could find her voice.

Both Peyton and Logan moved to go after her. Justin was frozen in his spot. Lucas wanted to go, but knew either Logan or Peyton would be able to handle it better, and he didn't want to arouse suspicion in either Haley or his mother. Peyton stopped Logan at the doorway, sending him a look. He paused and finally nodded. "She'll be at the beach," he said, gesturing for Peyton to go, because he knew she wanted to repair her relationship with her daughter.

Surprising everyone, Sean spoke up. "No, wait a second," he said, holding up his hand and listening. He heard the tires squeal as she pealed out of there, and nodded, his suspicions confirmed. "She's trying to hold onto her anger right now. Whenever she's angry she goes to the Rivercourt. She only goes to the beach after her anger gives in and she wants to cry," he noticed everyone was looking at him as if surprised he knew that. "Trust me, I made her angry enough times. Every time she gets angry she goes to the Rivercourt with a basketball," he shrugged.

After considering this, Peyton realized he was probably right. She knew her daughter liked the Rivercourt almost as much as her father did. She glanced at Lucas, so he would know she got that trait from him, and then made her apologies to Haley before leaving the house. Justin didn't know what to do now that Audrey had left. She was his ride, for one thing, and for another, she didn't know if the rest of them would want him around. Haley noticed his discomfort. "Well, lets all eat," she motioned for everyone to go into the dining room, and then went to see if Kristine was alright.

**A/N: **_Okay, I am really sorry its been so long, but my muse just disappeared for this fic for a while. I think it is back now. I can't promise that updates will be sooner though, because life is busy with a two month old, and doing online classes. I will try to write as much as I can though. I only hope there are people still reading._

**Spoiler: **_Next chapter will probably contain a Peyton/Audrey scene, a Nathan/Kristine scene, and maybe even a Audrey/Kristine heart-to-heart. They are going to be friends here soon. I think it'll be in the next couple chapters. As for the adults, there should be a Leyton scene and maybe a Breyton scene, and I think I need to get in some Peyton/Haley/Karen bonding again. Hopefully all of that will fit into one chapter._

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own anything. If I did, Peyton and Lucas would definitely still be in the show._


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